


Falling is...

by QCRika



Series: Falling is... [2]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: F/M, Family Dynamics, Family Issues, Izaya being a responsible older sibling, Mairu and Kururi Orihara, Mairu and Kururi catches the flu, Other Alternates of Izaya will show up or make cameos, Raijin Days, Raijin Days- Kadota and Shinra, Slow Build, Vi and Toudaimoto will show up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-05-12 09:47:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5661835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QCRika/pseuds/QCRika
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"To fall" can mean a lot of things depending on the next word(s). Izaya doesn't like to think much of it, until Kururi gets sick and everything begins to fall apart. But are things really falling apart or are they falling into place? Raijin Days AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Inroduction Side A - Orihara Kururi

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!  
> This is a slow build plot. Each chapter will be titled based on who Izaya interacts with.  
> I know I tagged this as Heiwajima Shizuo/Orihara Izaya, it will get there. I promise.  
> For the first couple of chapters I just to show/play around with the family dynamic and relationship of the three Orihara siblings, as well as Izaya's own relationship with other characters.

“Kururi! Mairu!!” Izaya yelled as she packed the twins’ lunch. She checked both bentos, making sure that each twins got the same amount -- she’ll never hear the end of it if their lunches are asymmetrical. The only difference between the bentos are the casing themselves. Kururi’s is a green bento box with a yellow pair of chopsticks, as well as a yellow bento bag. Mairu’s is the opposite, a yellow bento box that came with green chopsticks and is held in a green bento bag. Izaya tied up the bags, placing it right in front of the twins’ bags. She let out another annoyed sigh when she didn’t see her sisters at the dining table. “It’s like this everyday, why do I expect anything different?” she asked herself as she placed her coffee cup into the sink. She walked up the stairs and opened the door to Kururi’s and Mairu’s room.

“I’ve been calling you, don’t make the food—“ Izaya stopped when she saw that Mairu was sitting by Kururi’s bed, staring at the lump on the twin mattress. Izaya immediately knelt down by Mairu, flashing her a smile and motioned for her to get ready, while she tapped what she hoped was Kururi’s shoulder. The figure on the bed only shivered, and Izaya saw Kururi’s hair follow her movements. Izaya sat on the edge and picked up Kururi, who squirmed and let out small cry. Once the girl was on Izaya’s lap, Izaya slowly pulled the blanket back until Kururi’s head is uncovered.

Izaya was surprised by his sister’s appearance. Her hair was disheveled, even too messy for a seven year old. The skin around her eyes were puffy, while her cheeks were colored in red. Kururi shivered, pulling the blanket closer to her as she buried her head onto the crook of Izaya’s neck. Izaya nearly flinched as she felt the temperature radiating from Kururi. She immediately began to rock the girl the way she used to when the twins were infants, and began to massage circles on the girl’s back. She started to hum a song when she heard Kururi cry.

“I hurt everywhere” Kururi murmured. Izaya only tightened her hold on her younger sister and nodded. She turned to Mairu, who was wearing her grade school uniform, and her hair undone. Izaya smiled at her and stood up while carrying Kururi. She slowly shifted the girl in her arms so that she’s balancing her on one arm, while the other stretched out to Mairu.

“C’mon, you two still need to eat breakfast.”

 

********

“So does that mean that we don’t have to go to school today?” Mairu asked. Izaya momentarily stopped braiding Mairu’s hair, and resumed a second later. She was hoping that Mairu wouldn’t ask these kinds of questions, but she also knew that she couldn’t dodge them. The twins have to learn that they can’t always be together.

“Iza-nee?” Kururi pressed as she finished her miso soup. Izaya tied Mairu’s braids and hugged Mairu [knowing that she may pull something]. “No.” Izaya started. She knew that Kururi’s eyes were widening, but she focused on Mairu, the one with the most energy at the moment. She needed to phrase it so that Mairu agrees to go to class. If there’s one thing the three Orihara’s are known for, it’s their drive to be independent and make their own decisions.

“I need you to go to school.”

“Why!?! Mairu is sick—“

“But you’re not” Izaya replied. She looked at Kururi, signaling her to not throw her pair of chopsticks at her.

“But you’re not sick either! And you’re probably going to skip class-“

“That’s because I have to” Izaya interfered. “I’m the only one who can take care of you two when you get sick. Remember what we have to do?”

“Go to the doctor and get a medicine…” Kururi replied, looking down.

“and you need an adult with you...” Mairu added.

“Right” Izaya replied as she let go of Mairu. She walked over to the backpacks and bento boxes while the twins just watched. Izaya began to remove the contents of each bag and switched; Mairu’s things were now in Kururi’s bag, while Kururi’s things were in Mairu’s bag.

“Here, take Kururi’s bag pack for today, and her lunch.” Izaya said as she placed them on the legs of the chair that Mairu sat on. “That way a little bit of Kururi is with you today” she smiled at Mairu and patted the girl’s head. “Deal?”

“But she’ll get to spend more time with you too! It’s not fair” Mairu muttered.

“I owe you then” Izaya said as she stood up and grabbed the plates. She motioned for Mairu to start washing the dishes while she made phone calls. Both of the twins listened in.

“Hi…Dotachin?...I can’t make it to school today. No I’m not skipping out because of _that!!_ Okay, one of my sisters is sick, so I need to stay in and take care of her. Yeah I’m kind of asking you to bring me the homework. Yeah yeah, I’ll call the office and let them know. Uh-huh. Oh! Before I forget, can you pass this message to Shizu-chan?” the twins frowned when they heard “Shizu-chan” they never did like them. The first day their sister met them, was the day she came home with bandages and a huge smile on her face. Her eyes were different too, and it offended the twins. What’s worst is the smile that she had on her face. It was a smile of pure joy and excitement. Only they should be able to make their sister feel that. Only they deserve Izaya’s attention. No one else. Mairu let out a huff while she continued to wash the dishes.

“Hi, I’m calling to excuse Orihara Kururi. Yes this is her older sister Izaya, I’ll stop by later today with a doctor’s note. Yes Mairu will be attending today, yes, please give Mairu her homework. Thank you, have a nice day.”

“Hi— you can’t give me detention if I have a valid reason for calling” Mairu and Kururi looked their sister. So Izaya called Raijin High, they both frowned, hearing their Sister’s playful tone talk to the administrator. “I’m very sorry for the problem that Shizu-chan caused, but honestly can you really blame me?...that aside, I’m calling to excuse myself for the day. My younger sister is sick. No my parents can’t take care of her. You’d like to talk to them? Well…you’ll have to wait for about 8 hours. They work in America. My grandparents are in Kyoto. I don’t live close to a relative. Listen if you want me to drop by with my sick baby sister, then so be it—awe thank you! I knew you’d understand! And yes, I did enter in that competition you asked. Have a not so boring day”

“Mairu, Kururi, get ready we’re leaving after I make this phone call” Izaya yelled as she dialed in the doctor’s number. Mairu got off her chair and walked to her room, grabbing her grey leggings and dark green long-sleeve dress. She grabbed her socks, and jacket; the cold being unbearable, but at the same time the heat burns her inside. She paused when she heard a knock on the door. She opened to see that Izaya had changed out of her school uniform, had put on black tights, black skirt, and a red turtleneck long sleeve and black parka [no fur trims]. Izaya has a condition where she’s cold all the time, even in summer she would see her sister wearing a jacket and pants. She was holding a small bag, which she began to pack some clothes in. the twins began to panic, something that Izaya picked up immediately.

“You two aren't going anywhere” she reassured. “I’m just packing extra clothes for Kururi, just in case her fever breaks and makes her sweat” she muttered somethings before closing the back and smiled at the twins. She scooped up Kururi in one arm and held Mairu’s hand in the free one. And with that, the three left the Orihara residence and head to their first destination. 

 

********

The walk to the twin’s school wasn’t too long. On the way Mairu talked about her dreams, what she read, and what she saw on the TV, while Kururi would mutter responses or talk about the pain she felt. Izaya was greeted at the front gate by the twin’s teacher, who chatted with Izaya while saying hi and wishing Kururi a fast recovery. The school may have seemed lenient from the phone call, but it’s the exact opposite. This is one of the strictest schools in the area. The only reason why Izaya managed to get Kururi dismissed for the day is due to the conversation her parents had with the principal before the twins started. They made it clear that Izaya is responsible enough, in fact, she is the only guardian not to herself, but for the twins. They even met with Izaya, asking her questions in a pseudo interview style, which she passed with flying colors. Kururi gave Mairu's hand a light squeeze before letting go and waving goodbye.

The next stop was the doctors. A place that both Izaya and Kururi hate.

Kururi sat on Izaya’s lap as they sat down on the train. It’s around 10:00 am, and the box was filled with people. Izaya held Kururi closer to her when more people boarded. She looked down and stared at Izaya’s hands, how her fingers interlocked to keep her close to her older sister. She let her body sink back, relaxing onto Izaya. Izaya responded by kissing Kururi’s head, smiling as she began to hum the song. Izaya knew that Kururi get anxious when she’s surrounded by strangers, so she began to distract the child with small things, from humming, to hugging closer to her. At some point, Kururi seemed really bothered, it didn’t help that she was experiencing a fever and dizziness. She immediately clawed at Izaya’s arms when she felt them loosen around her. “I’m right here” she heard her sister say. Next thing she knew, Izaya had set her favorite plush on her lap. She immediately embraced it, burying her face onto its back. Her plush, along with Izaya combing her hair with her fingers, relaxed Kururi, that she didn’t realize that they had gotten out of the train. She only noticed when they stepped outside, the sunlight greeting her.

Kururi would urge Izaya to let her walk, which would lead to Izaya holding her tighter and shaking her head. In her anger, Kururi began to flail around, nearly causing Izaya to drop her. But Izaya recovered and pulled at her hood and pulled it over her head.

“We need to keep you warm.” She chided. “And no walking until you see the doctor. You woke up today with a really high fever.”

“But you must be tired!”

“I’m not” Izaya replied. “If I was I would’ve put you down by now. Don’t worry about it.” 

Once they got to the medical office, Izaya checked them in, filling out the forms, and waited with Kururi. What surprised Kururi is that Izaya hasn’t taken her phone out. Instead, she found Izaya staring at her, intended on keeping her attention on the seven year old. The appointment itself wasn’t long. The doctor asked Kururi how she was feeling, then asked Izaya if she had anything in the past days and weeks. At the end, he wrote Kururi a ten day prescription, 4 times a day drug.

 ********

“What’s a virus?” Kururi asked as she and Izaya exit the pharmacy. Izaya had her on her lap when the pharmacist told Izaya how the drug should be taken. Kururi knew that her sister wasn’t paying attention, only nodding when needed. Knowing her older sister, Kururi trusted that Izaya already knew what she had and only went through the process to get the medication. Izaya, rather Iza-nee, is scary like that. “It’s a very small thing” Izaya started as she set Kururi down on the bench. She opened the bag and placed the wallet and medication there.

“How is it making me sick?” Kururi asked. Izaya put the backpack on and motioned for Kururi to stand up. . “Well, the body has a way of telling what should and shouldn’t be in your body. The fever is there to let you know that they are trying to get rid of it” She answered while she picked Kururi up.

“Then why the medicine?”

“Sometimes the body needs help getting rid of them” Izaya replied. ‘just like how the police needs some assistance sometimes' she mumbled under her breath. “Well, we should get you something to eat since you need to take the medication soon…we are close to Russia Sushi….but is that cutting it close?”

“I’ll go where Iza-nee goes” Kururi responded.

“Allright, let’s see what Dennis can make for you”

********* 

“Izaya, skipping school, bad” Kururi heard as they approached ‘Russia Sushi’. She had many questions about the place, like why is it called Russia Sushi? And is it any different from the Sushi that she eats…and the kinds that she makes with Mairu and Izaya?. She looked behind, seeing a tall man. She immediately turned back and buried her face into the crook of Izaya’s neck.

“Ne, ne, Simon, I’m not that bad” Izaya responded as she patted Kururi on the back. “I’m taking care of my younger sister”

“Twins?”

“The other one is in school, this one is Kururi, she’s sick right now.”

“Ah! Eat sushi feel better!” Simon said. Kururi hugged Izaya tigher.

“Of course!” Izaya responded as she walked forward. “Can I get the private booth? I don’t want to keep exposing my sister to open areas. She might spread it…or catch something else.” And that’s how Kururi ended up sitting in a green walled private booth with her sister. Much to her surprise, the person who took their order wasn’t ‘Simon’, but ‘Dennis’.

“Hey do you have soup here?” Izaya asked. Dennis nodded, and then looked at Kururi. She sank back into her seat, holding the plush tighter. "Oh, that's Kururi, my younger sister. She's technically a middle child since she's a bit older than her twin sister." Dennis nodded, giving his attention back to Izaya.

“So some soup for her, And you? The usual?”

“…I’m not that hungry” Izaya responded. “Also…can you let me know if you see Shizu-chan? I really don’t want to confront him while I have my sister with me” Again with the mention of ‘Shizu-chan’. Kururi hugged her plush tighter as she looked at Izaya. If there’s one thing that she hates about her sister it’s her cowardice. She couldn’t understand why Izaya couldn’t just admit that she actually wants to see this ‘Shizu-chan’, it’s quite obvious, but she did have a point, if Izaya is to get into a fight with Shizu-chan, she would be in the way.

“Defend” she mumbled.

“What’s that?” Izaya asked.

“…I want to defend Iza-nee” she looked up and froze. At first Izaya’s eyes were wide, but they relaxed, along with Izaya smiling at Kururi. She reached forward and messed with her hair.

“You’re going to need to know how to defend yourself first” she responded.

“How??” Kururi asked.

“Well…how about when you get better…we enroll you in a martial arts class?”

“With Mairu?”

“With Mairu” Izaya said. 

After making sure that Kururi took her medication, Izaya picked the girl up, paid their bill and walked out of the restaurant. Much to Kururi’s surprise, Izaya went into the bookstore. She let Kururi down, telling her to pick out a book. She nodded, making sure that she didn’t stray too far from her sister. She would look back at Izaya, seeing how she would skim through books, some manga, others looked boring. “Do you want this book?” Izaya asked as she closed it and looked at Kururi. “You’ve been staring at me since I picked it up.”

“…what’s it about?” Kururi asked.

“It’s a book full of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales” Izaya opened the book to show Kururi an illustration. “He’s an author known for writing the ‘Little Mermaid’, his fairy tales don’t usually have happy ending-“ Izaya stopped when she felt Kururi pull her towards the cashier.

“You could’ve just said yes” She took out her wallet and handed the person the exact change. She put the book in the bag and offered her hand to Kururi. The little girl immediately took it, even going as far as holding Izaya’s hand with both of hers. Izaya smiled and her and nudged her forward. Kururi tensed when she saw Izaya take her phone out, wondering if her older sister will be distracted, but instead Izaya immediately put the phone away and looked at her. “Let’s pick up Mairu” she smiled.  
 

 


	2. Introduction Side B - Mairu Orihara

Mairu Orihara is a hyper child, like most seven year olds are. Her favorite past time includes messing with her older sister, Izaya Orihara. She often wondered what goes through her mind; and why there’s a lot of trophies with her name on it. She doesn’t think that she has an amazing sister, but she will admit that she has an interesting one. A cowardly one at that too. She passively listened to the classes today, answering questions when asked. But for most of the day, she just stared out at the window. A part of her is really angry with Izaya -- making her go to school without Kururi is something she deemed punishable. But at the same time, Mairu knows that Izaya must be having a hard time with Kururi, and later the both of them. After all, the seven year old gave her respect on where it’s due. Between school and housework, Izaya seemed to balance both…and a third unknown activity just fine. She still manages to finish all of her homework in an hour, cook and clean, and sometimes read them stories. There are days where Izaya would request a family friend to take care of the twins, but it would only last for about an hour after class, and Izaya would get them. The only time Izaya was ever late in picking up the twins was when she first met ‘Shizu-chan’.

Mairu has no interest in Shizu-chan. It’s just another person who will take Izaya away from them, something that Mairu hates. What she hates the most is how Izaya is letting it happen. She sees the glint of interest and crave for attention in her big sister’s eyes when the name is mentioned. She hated it. It should only be her and Kururi that should preoccupy Izaya’s mind. She is their only family. What good are parents when they don’t even show up to opening ceremonies and birthdays? As far as Mairu can remember, it has always been Izaya. Izaya coordinating with their grandparents, Izaya waking up to them screeching and crying; Izaya cleaning up their mess; and Izaya fighting the urge to use her knives on them. Mairu found it entertaining.

 As if on cue, she saw Izaya and Kururi at the front school of the gates when the bell rang. She quickly packed her things, waved goodbye to her sensei and class and wished luck to those who were on cleaning duty for the day [she was dishes today so her chore was done]. She ran down the stairs and immediately jumped when she was a feet away from Izaya. She let out a laugh feeling that Izaya momentarily lost her balance and let go of Kururi’s hand.

“Mairu!!” Izaya yelled as she regained her balance.

“How was the doctors?” she asked.

“It’s fine, now c’mon, let’s go home so we can keep Kururi warm.” Izaya huffed as she put the seven year old down.

Once they were home, Izaya immediately changed Kururi to her pajamas, while she told Mairu to stay in the living room and start on her homework.

“But our favorite show is on!!” Mairu protested.

 “Then watch it”

“SWEET!!” Mairu placed her homework on the table and reached for the TV remote. She turned when she heard Izaya walk down the stairs with Kururi in her hands. Izaya placed her on the far edge of the couch, and motioned for Mairu to come closer.

“Allright…” Izaya started. Mairu smiled. Knowing Izaya, she must’ve been thinking about how to say things since they left her school. “I’m going to need you two to stay away from each other as much as possible” Mairu felt her eyes widen, while Kururi just stared at Izaya. It was only the murmur of voices from the TV that filled the room.   

“………” Mairu opened her mouth, only to close it, staring at Kururi.

“Why?” Kururi finally asked. Izaya let out a relieved sigh and sat down next to her while she reached for Mairu.

“Because one of you is sick and the other isn’t. I don’t want Mairu to catch what you have, and I don’t want Kururi to disrupt Mairu’s time.”

“I still don’t understand” Mairu huffed. “Is this your way of separating us?!” she accused.

“No.” Izaya breathed out. “NO” she repeated. “Mairu you wouldn’t be able to draw or do anything in the room because Kururi would need to sleep and rest, Kururi you can’t be around Mairu because she might get what you have.”

“Then what about sleeping?” Kururi asked. “We sleep in the same room”

“Kururi will stay in the room while Mairu will take my room”

“But your bed is weird!!” Mairu protested.

“Then I’ll just move your bed into my room.”

“Where will you sleep?”

“Here” Izaya said as she patted couch.

“Iza-nee!!” both of them responded.

“Listen I have an alarm going off every six hours so I don’t forget when Kururi needs to take her medicine, It’ll wake you up Mairu.”

“But what if something happens?” Mairu asked. “I’m new to your room, I don’t know what lurks in there!”

“Then I’ll put your nightlight in it too” Izaya replied. “Listen, it’s only until Kururi gets better, it’s not forever” Izaya said. “Look you both are missing your favorite show” This seemed to get the twin’s attention, making Kururi bunch the blanket around her, while Mairu rushed to the coffee table.

Izaya moved, grabbing Mairu’s bento and went into the kitchen. She surveyed the contents of the fridge, taking out vegetables, and some ingredients.

“What’s for dinner tonight?” she heard Mairu asked.

“Miso soup, steamed vegetables, and grilled beef” she turned to face the girls. “No fried things for now, it might upset Kururi’s stomach” Just as Izaya was about to start chopping vegetables, she took out a tray of green tea mochi filled with red bean paste. “Snack on this first, then take your medicine” Izaya told Kururi.

Izaya raced Mairu to the door when they heard knocking. Izaya immediately grabbed Mairu and picked her up, and walked to the door, looked through the peephole and opened it.

“Are you Shizu-chan?!” Mairu asked as she wiggled out of Izaya’s hold. Izaya grabbed her arm and stood in front of her.

“Don’t mind her Dotachin” she said.

“How many times do I have to tell you to not call me that?” he asked as he took a folder out of bag. “Here are the homework from today. Do you need me to do this tomorrow?”

“Yup…and maybe the day after tomorrow, it depends on when I go back really”

“Iza-nee, I can’t open the bottle” Kururi said as she walked up to Izaya. Kadota saw Izaya’s eye immediately widen as she turned to the other person. “Kururi you were supposed to stay on the couch! C’mon, let’s get you warmed up—“ she turned to Kadota. “Feel free to come in Dotachin-“

“I was about to lea—“ Kadota stopped when he felt tiny hands grabbing his left hand. Next thing he knew he was inside Izaya’s home, with the front door locking behind him. He felt someone pushing him. He looked back and saw that it was a little girl with brown hair. He quickly took his shoes off and walked straight into the living room. He saw Izaya crouching down in front of a figure on the couch. She was pouring medicine into a little cup, and just as he expected, Izaya was very precise. She handed it to the girl, who drank it, and then Izaya filled the cup with water, swirling it before handing it back to the girl again. Then Izaya gave the girl water.

“Her name is Mairu” she murmured as she turned to Kadota. “The one that I just gave medicine to is Kururi. They’re twins” she stood up and walked to the kitchen. “Did you want to stay? I know Mairu pulled you through the doors”

“I can stay.” Kadota said. “I needed to talk to you about the project”

“Project?” Izaya asked while she resumed to cutting the vegetables.

“Yeah, we got assigned a project.”

“And you’re my partner?”

“Yeah” Kadota said. “At first Shinra was planning on making you and Shizuo partners, but I talked him out of it”

“Thanks” Izaya said as she stopped and smiled at Kadota. “I don’t think we would’ve gotten anything done”

“Would you actually work with him?” Kadota asked.

“Well I would need to” Izaya said as she turned to the stove to turn it on. She filled a pot with some water and set it on the stove top and then looked at Kadota. “I mean, I’ll probably mess with him, but I’d do what needs to be done to have a passing grade” she finished as she grabbed the bowls filled with cut vegetables.

“I see, well the pro—“

“Do you like Iza-nee?” They heard. Kadota saw Izaya’s shoulder slump before she let out a sigh.

“Mairu-“

"I’m just curious because no one ever visits Iza-nee and stay.” Of course Mairu emphasized “no one”, which irritated Izaya.

“We’re friends” Kadota replied calmly.

“Then how come I never see you here?”

“Because I have no reason to be here”

“Isn’t the fact that Iza-nee lives here enough for you to stop by?” Mairu asked.

“We hang out after school”

“But Iza-nee rarely has time to hang out. She always get chased by ‘Shizu-chan’ and then she goes straight to our school to pick me and Kuru-nee up” Mairu continued.

“Well I didn’t know where she lived until now.”

“You could’ve asked her earlier, maybe when you first met, or maybe a week after—“

“Mairu” Izaya interrupted. Both Kadota and Mairu stared at Izaya. Her back was turned to them as she added the ingredients for the soup. “It’s okay, you know how I like to spend my time” Izaya responded. “You shouldn’t give Kyouhei-san much trouble” Kadota was shocked when he heard Izaya address him as “Kyouhei”. “Sorry about that Dotachin, what about the project?” Kadota nodded and took out his notes from his bag and began to tell Izaya the details.

*********

Mairu stood next to Izaya as she stepped up on the stool in front of the sink. Kadota had just left, prompting Izaya to bring all of the used dishes, utensils, and pots to the sink. Kururi sat on the top of the counter, still holding onto the blanket and her plush. She watched as her sister washed the dishes. It was oddly quiet. Mairu wasn’t talking, neither did Izaya. Kururi knew that it had something to do with Mairu’s behavior; but Izaya is never one to give them the cold shoulder. As much as many people believe and would like to believe; Izaya is a good sister. She cooks and cleans the house. She helps them with homework and tends to their needs. Reads them bed time stories when asked, and even slept on the floor in their room when they’re too scarred. Not once had they seen Izaya complain about them.

Izaya would lash out sometimes. But it’s often not directed at them even when they were the source. Yes they did receive proper punishment, like to TV for the night, no dessert after dinner, the punishments were never physical contact. So the silence that zaya is currently in makes the twins nervous. Izaya seemed to have caught on when she turned her head slightly towards Kururi and placed a clean dish on the drying rack.

“What is it?” she asked as she rinsed off another dish.

“Are you mad with me?” Mairu asked. “It’s because of all the questions I asked Kyouhei-san?”

“I am slightly mad at you” Izaya confessed as she placed another dish on the drying rack. “But I also understand that you’re both curious” Izaya finished. “Who am I to stop you from finding answers?”

“How come none of your friends ever come over?” Mairu asked.

“Mairu….” Kururi warned.

“Shinra has Celty” Izaya said. “He wants to go home to see her”

“What about Kyouhei-san?”

“Dotachin has his other set of friends” Izaya replied.

“…Shizu-chan?” Kururi added. She held her plush tighter, afraid that Izaya was going to lash out. But instead they witness a rare moment where their older sister let out a tired and defeated sigh, and plastered a smile on her face. “He has a family to go home to, a little brother, and some peace and quiet” she said as she placed the last dish on drying rack.

“…” Kururi stayed silent.

“What about you?” Kururi and Mairu asked at the same time. “What do you come home to?” At this Izaya wiped her hands on the kitchen towel and looked at them. She gathered the twins into an awkward hug, with Mairu on her left and Kururi on her right. “I come home to the two most interesting sisters I know” she murmured. “Now c’mon, Mairu you need to take a shower, Kururi I need to change you out of those clothes. It’s time to get ready for bed.”

*********

Izaya sat on the edge of Mairu’s bed after she plugged the nightlight on the opposite wall. She turned to the girl and combed her hair with her fingers. Sometime she would massage the scalp and then repeat.

“Iza-nee” Mairu murmured as she turned to face her sister. Mairu wrapped her arms around Izaya’s waist and buried her face on her side.

“Hm?” Izaya asked.

“Are you…are you gonna forget about me?"

“What makes you ask that?” Izaya asked.

“Because we’re clones”

“I was joking” Izaya said. “You and Kururi are different people with your own things to live by” she let out a tired sigh. “I just wanted to see what you would do”

“Then do you hate us?” Mairu asked. “Why are you so mean?” She felt Izaya carry her so that she’s on her lap.

“No” Izaya said. “I love you”

“Is it because we’re humans?” Mairu pressed. She felt her sister’s grip tighten on her.

“No. Not because you’re human” Izaya replied as she kissed the top on Mairu’s head.

“Really?” Mairu asked.

“Yes really.” Izaya looked down at her sister. “Do you know how hard it is to get up an hour early just to cook you two breakfast and lunch? It’s a really tedious job, and I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t care about you two.” Izaya added. “What else are you worried about?”

“That you’ll spend more time with Kururi and like her more”

“You know that’s not how it works” Izaya responded. “I’m spending time with you now”

"I know…”

“And I’ll spend time with you when Kururi is asleep” Izaya said. “I won’t forget about you”

“..but you’re going to leave us aren’t you?” Kururi asked.

“That’s not for a while” Izaya said. “I’m still here, and I won’t leave”

“Really?”

“Not tonight?”

“Not tonight”

“Why do you want to leave?” she asked. Izaya realized that her sister was crying.

“It’s not because of you”

“Don’t you love us enough to stay?” Mairu asked. “I mean I know mom and dad can be cruel, but Kuru-nee and I are still here. Iza-nee we don’t know what to do-“

“I’m not going to leave you two knowing that you two don’t know anything” Izaya replied. “Just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be present in your life anymore. It just means that I’m not going to be in the same house. I’ll still be there for you and Kururi, I won’t abandon you two” ‘The way mom and dad abandoned me’ Izaya left out. But she knew that Mairu knew what she was thinking. After all, the twins were awake two years ago when her parents decided to give Izaya a lesson for going into protective custody. Izaya held Mairu for a bit more, rocking her back and forth and humming a lullaby. She tucked Mairu again and kissed her forehead, turned off the lights, and left the room.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I didn't know that chapter 2 got published. I'm so sorry for all of the errors, and most should've been fixed. If I missed some, please let me know.   
> Thank you for reading!   
> Until next chapter -QCRika


	3. Intro side C: Kadota the concerned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a mention of Anorexia Nervosa.

Izaya slowly got into the bathtub and sat down. She allowed herself to feel the warm water relax her muscles. Dealing her sisters is always a challenge for Izaya. She doesn’t know what goes on in their mind, nor does she want to know. All she knows is that the twins know more than they let on. And to have Kururi sick. Izaya wonders to herself whether or not she would be able to keep Mairu from getting sick. Knowing the twins, they hate to be separated. The only time they allowed it is when they walk and both of them are holding one of Izaya’s hands. In fact, the only time they welcome separation is if Izaya is between them. They didn’t even like it when their parents would walk with them and they’re not next to each other, and again, the insistance on holding Izaya’s hand.

Izaya admits, she was a bit jealous of her younger sisters. They have each other. All Izaya had is herself. And she’s too much of a coward to try and make friends, she feared rejection and betrayal. Afterall she did receive it from her parents. She shook her head and slowly sank down, letting her head dip as far back until her face was the only thing exposed to the air. Aside from taking care of the twins, Izaya has to take care of herself.

She sat up and looked at her body. The week before, Shizuo managed to hit her with a trashcan, which resulted as a bruise on her side. Much to Izaya’s surprise, today was amazing; the twins didn’t give her much trouble, and they were straight forward. There was no guessing, no arguments, and no tricks. Izaya was taken out of her train of thought when she heard her stomach grumble. She let out a sigh and stood up, grabbing the towel and wrapping it around herself.

“Tonight’s agenda is homework, Uncle Vi’s codes, and then Uncle Toudaimoto’s script” Izaya murmured to herself as she dried herself. She ignored her stomach and changed. “I should also let our grandparents know that one of the twins are sick.” Izaya murmured. She, as quietly as possible, got the laundry from both her room and the twins’. Sorting them out and then sticking them into the washing machine. She sat on the couch, turned on the TV, and took out her laptop. She typed in her email, opened the files her uncle sent her, and began working on the codes. She only paused when the timer for the washer went off and she put the clothes in the washer into the drier, while she reloaded the washer with the colors. After sending the codes to her uncle, she opened the other email, which contained a manuscript. She acts as a second editor for him; checking his grammar and content before he sends it to the publishers.

Of course Izaya didn’t do these things for fun, she expected something in return; from money or food, Izaya helps her uncles out with their jobs when they need her. It’s always been that way…since she was put into protective custody. She was folding the dried laundry when the alarm for Kururi’s medicine went off. Izaya immediately stood up, grabbed the measuring cup, medicine, and water, and headed up to the twin's room. She gently woke the girl up and gave her medicine. She also checked her temperature, and much to Izaya’s dismay, the fever has not gone down. She was about to leave, but Kururi reached for her, pulling her towards the bed. Izaya let out a sigh and turned around. She picked up the girl, and laid down on the bed with her.

To Izaya’s luck, the girls’ behavior when they’re sick is very similar to hers. With this knowledge, Izaya massaged circles on Kururi’s back while the girl laid down. And within 20 minutes, the girl is back to sleeping. Izaya smiled and kissed the forehead of her younger’s sister before slowly getting up. She quietly closed the door and walked down the stairs and resumed on folding the laundry. Izaya wasn’t done until 2 am, which left her with 3 hours of sleep.

Much to what people would think, Izaya’s life is normal. It consists of her going to school [albeit going to class is a rare occasion], taking care of her sisters, and chores. Aside from the side jobs that she does for her uncles, and from Kine, her life is normal. As it should be, she is a normal person after all. The second day of taking care of Kururi was smooth. The girl just stayed on the couch; she caught up on her homework and studies while watching the TV. They only left the house when they would drop and pick up Kururi, and the flow of the evening was similar. Mairu came home with a get well card signed by the whole class, while Kadota stopped by to drop off homework, and joined them for dinner. It was then that Kadota noticed that Izaya was eating smaller portions.

“It’s getting really close to the curfew” Izaya said as she walked out of her room after tucking Mairu in.

“Yeah I need to talk to you about something” Kadota said

“Ohh Dotachin got serious!!” Izaya chirped.

“Izaya” Kadota warned. At this Izaya smiled at him and sat next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, and much to his surprise, she’s not cold like she usually is. She was actually warm.

“Well you have my undivided attention” Izaya said. “And make it quick because the twins are easily jealous and I don’t feel like explaining to them what we are in terms of relationships”

“Allright, allright” Kadota breathed out. “You need to come to class tomorrow”

“Can’t, Kururi is still sick.” Izaya said. “I can’t leave a seven year old by herself”

“Call a babysitter” Kadota chided. “You need to go to class tomorrow”

“I can’t!” Izaya repeated. “I can’t just leave my sick young sister here by herself!”

“Why not?! It’s only for a couple of hours—“

“A couple of hours can feel like eternity” Izaya retorted. “Especially when you’re alone” She let out a sigh and sat up, looking at Kadota. “Dotachin it’s really hard to convince someone that you love them and that you’ll be there for them when you already fucked up” she stated. “I can’t leave Mairu and Kururi by themselves, you don’t know what they think, nor what they go through”

“Izaya you’re in danger of being kicked out” Kadota finally said.

“They can’t kick me out” Izaya breathed out.

“They can, and they will” Kadota said. “Listen, our homeroom teacher talked to me today before they gave me the make up work. And they said that your poor attendance and perfect marks are causing an uproar in the administration.”

“Kadota they can’t just kick me out”

“They accepted you and they can reject you” Kadota replied back. At this he saw Izaya’s eyes widen. Something similar to betrayal and pain flashed in Izaya’s eyes. The way her body tensed, the way she licked the bottom of lips only to bite it a second later. Kadota watched as Izaya let out a sigh and brought her knees up to her chest up to her chest while she hugged herself. She gave Kadota a smile and shook her head. He swore he heard her saying ‘well atleast I have Kine to turn to’ He frowned when he heard the unfamiliar name.

“They can’t just suddenly kick me out” Izaya started again. “Not when I’m the one that’s going to represent them at the upcoming Calligraphy, Go, Chess, and Sports meet up” she murmured. “And that’s what? About five weeks of events? I can improve my attendance by that time.” She looked at Kadota. “Let me guess, we’re having a surprise pop quiz tomorrow?”

“……” Kadota kept quiet. He knew that Izaya knew that the answer is yes - she always knew when these things would be. And Lo and behold Shizuo would follow suit. That’s another thing, Shizuo is getting irritated. He simply couldn’t go two days without seeing Izaya; it was driving Kadota insane by the amount of suspicion that Shizuo holds; he was practically muttering that Izaya was planning something, and definitely not taking care of her sisters. Because Izaya is a flea. She leeches off other people to survive, she makes everyone's life a living hell. Atleast that’s Kadota’s understanding of how Shizuo sees Izaya. He couldn’t help but lean on Izaya, placing his head on top of her while he let out a sigh.

“How about…I sleep over?” Kadota asked.

“…what”

“I can sleep over, help take care of the twins”         

“No way Dotachin” Izaya mused. “Mairu and Kururi would give me one hell of a time, and I don’t need that”

“No seriously, I can help you take care of them in the morning, and we can ask Simon and Dennis to take care of them for a while”

“We’re asking restaurant chefs to take care of a sick girl and hyperactive one”

“Yup”

“We can’t have a sick person around the chefs Dotachin, they might get people sick”

“…but enough gets sick anyway, so their customers won’t know a thing”

“Dotachin…”

“You really do dote on them don’t you?” Kadota asked as she laughed. “Maybe you should show that side more often.” He felt Izaya lean against him as she shook her head.

“I think I’ll keep that part of myself….to myself.” Izaya replied.

“Izaya”

“No one would believe it anyway” Izaya said as she stood up. She motioned for Kadota to get up. Once he did she took off the cushions of the couch, and then it dawned to Kadota that the couch was also a bed.

“What are you…”

“Well you are going to sleep over.” Izaya said as she placed her hands on her hips. “So go run home and get your clothes. Just make sure you stay on your side of the bed okay?”Izaya said as she smiled at Kadota.

“Yeah. Sure” he replied as he smiled back and picked up his stuff.

*********

Morning was a nightmare. Kadota woke up to sounds of crying and something wretched. He got up and realized that Izaya wasn’t even on the bed anymore. He looked to see that there were things set on the kitchen counter and the stove. He called Izaya, who answered with “Upstairs” So Kadota put on his pants and undershirt. He walked upstairs to see a Kururi sitting and crying out in the hall in front of the bathroom, while Izaya and was in the bathroom with Mairu, who was hunched over the toilet. Izaya was holding the Mairu’s hair while the other hand massaged smaller circles on the girls back. He heard Mairu sniff before she threw up again. At this Kururi let out a shriek and kept trashing around.

“Dotachin can you please hold Kururi? She just needs to---“

“NOOOOOOO!!!” Kururi screeched as she held her head. “I WANT IZA-NEE!!! IZA-NEE!!!!” she screamed. Kadota looked at Izaya, who seemed to be between anger and panic. He made eye contact with Izaya and nodded, understanding that Izaya would need help with preparing breakfast. As he headed downstairs, he heard both of the girls sobbing and crying and saw as Izaya hugged both of them.

“I hurt everywhere!” Kururi yelled as she clung onto Izaya’s neck. While Mairu only thrashed around and cried.

“I know” Izaya began. “I know, shhhh, everything will be okay allright?” he heard. “shhhh, I know it hurts, but I’m here; everything will be fine. Shhhh, it’s the fever. Mairu it’s going to be okay, c’mon we need to get you changed. Both of you…I know. I know” 

“Hi yes, I would like to dismiss the absences of my sisters” Kadota heard Izaya say as she talked to the staff on the phone. “Yes I will provide a doctors note later today…Thank you” Kadota looked at the twins from the kitchen counter. The two of them were eating quietly.

“Sorry…” Kururi started. At this Izaya turned to them from where she stood and let out a sigh. She walked over to Kururi and kissed her forehead, and did the same to Mairu. “There’s nothing for you two to be sorry about” Izaya said. “people get sick, humans get sick, it’s only natural.”

“But you never get sick” At this Kadota saw Izaya flash a melancholic smile on Izaya’s face. “That’s because I’m older.” She paused. “And I got sick a lot when I was your age, so that’s why I don’t get sick now, my body got used to it, and have the things that can fight things”

“Like viruses??” Kururi asked.

“Like viruses” Izaya confirmed. “Allright, are you both done?”

“Are we going anywhere?”

“You two will be staying with Kadota-san’s house” Izaya said. At this both girls looked ready to scream, but Izaya gave both girls a mask and motioned for them to put it on. “I’m in trouble with my school, so I need to go to class today, but after school I’ll come back to Kadota’s house and pick you two up and then go back to see the doctors” this seemed to have calmed down the girls.

*********

The rest of the day was ‘normal’. Izaya taunting Shizuo while the Shizuo retaliated. They took their pop quiz, and worked on their projects. Izaya joined Kadota, Shinra, and Shizuo on the rooftop for lunch, much to Shizuo’s annoyance. Shizuo was about to punch Izaya the moment she took her phone out and dialed a number, but his anger dissipated when heard the voices from the phone.

“Iza-nee?”

“Awee, did I wake you up from a nap?” Izaya cooed. “I’m sorry, okay, well its lunch time so School is almost done…Ah Kadota-san!” At this Shizuo looked at Kadota, who dismissed the concerned look and continued on with the conversation the three of them were having. “That’s good to hear, I see... has Mairu managed to keep anything in her stomach?...I see…Thank you so much Kadota-san! Yes see you soon” at this Izaya let out a sigh and put her phone away. She walked close to the three males. She waved back at Shinra, and motioned to Kadota that she will be laying down. She placed her head on his lap and laid down between Kadota and Shinra.

“So your sisters are really sick” Shinra mused.

“Have I ever lied about my sisters?” Izaya spat back as she covered her eyes.

“I’m sorry!” Shinra said unconvincingly. “But you should be careful, from what I heard the bug is going around is strong and takes a while”

“Shinra will you shut up”

“Shut up flea” Shizuo finally said. “Why don’t you go and just eat your lunch quietly” Izaya simply glared at Shizuo and turned her back towards him.

“I’m not hungry. Now if you would please, I need some peace and quiet”

“Oh like you deserve it?” Shizuo spat back.

“You wouldn’t know” Izaya replied.

“C’mon Orihara-chan, just eat lunch” Shinra said.

“I’m not hungry, and I forgot my lunch at home” Izaya muttered. “So just let me sleep okay?” Kadota looked down at Izaya, which she flashed him a message on her phone. ‘ _I’ll explain later, but please let me sleep Dotachin, I need it_. He nodded, and left Izaya alone and allowed her to sleep on his lap.

 *********

It wasn’t much later…years later when Kadota found out why Izaya ate smaller portions, or skipped meals. Part of it was due to Izaya’s anorexia (she's coping the last time he heard from Shinra), the other part was financial; something that made Kadota swore that he would pay Saburo to run Izaya’s parents over should he ever meet them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Izaya's Anorexia Nervosa is the "restricting type"; where Izaya watches and maintains their weight in an unhealthy manner [such as Izaya not getting the proper amount of nutrients]. This type of anorexia nervosa doesn't usually involve purging/binge eating. 
> 
> As for Izaya's appearance: the difference(s) are as follows  
> \- Izaya's hair is long [down to her shoulder blades]
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> Until the next chapter!


	4. Intro Side D: The signals and Kishitani Shinra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mention of Anorexia Nervosa

For the past week and a half, Shinra watched and listened to the events unfold. According to Kadota, Izaya’s sister got sick, making Izaya miss school. Shinra at first shrugged it off. A small cold shouldn’t be able to hurt a child in this day and age...well it shouldn't. And with the money that Izaya receives from her parents, it shouldn’t be a problem to get the medicine for Kururi. What Shinra is more interested in, is how he will spend his night with Celty. Sure she still hasn’t warmed up to the idea of dating him, let alone being intimate enough to hold hands, but Shinra had to try.

He also kept an eye on Shizuo, who seemed tense due to Izaya's absence. Once Kadota mentioned her, Shizuo immediately broke the pencil that he was holding, only to calm down a second later when heard about Kururi being sick. Sure Shizuo had no clue as to who “Kururi” is, but Shinra guess that it’s within Shizuo’s sibling instinct to be protective of a younger sibling. Shinra also had to admit, he was worried for Izaya. Worried in the case that she will get whatever bug Kururi has; after all, this year’s flu seemed to be more potent and bothersome than the previous year. So he carried on his day, just without an Izaya, which is basically a day with him ignoring Izaya.

“She what?” Shinra asked before he took a mouthful of his lunch.

“She barely ate at all last night” Kadota murmured. Shinra and Kadota turned to Shizuo, seeing that he had opted to nap rather than hear about Izaya. “And she always goes on about maintaining weight” he added.

“Well, we are at the age where we worry about that”

“Shinra, her sisters had plenty of food, and Izaya had less than half of what each of them had”

“Well the twins are growing, so it makes sense for them to have more food”

“You and I both know that that’s not how it works” Kadota chided.

“Fine I’ll talk to her about it” Shinra replied as he looked at Kadota. “But you know….I wouldn’t be surprise if Orihara-chan has a case of anorexia nervosa” Shinra added.

“Stop joking”

“I’m not” Shinra said. “She shows a handful of signs, from being cold all the time, to obsessing over weight.” Shinra paused. “Of course I’m not implying that Izaya will binge eat or stop eating completely; she’s more on the spectrum of maintaining a weight in an unhealthy manner.” Shinra paused and looked away from Kadota. “But you shouldn’t take this diagnosis to heart, I am just a high schooler and I still have a lot to learn”

So it was a surprise to Shinra when Izaya showed up rather than missing school three days in a row. If anything, her presence signaled that one of their classes will have a popquiz. So everyone took out their notes, while Izaya blankly stared at her cellphone. Shinra couldn’t even talk to Izaya during break because she would be on the phone checking on the twins. Lunch time was a disaster since Izaya chose it as a time to nap. He really wanted to talk to Izaya, to know what exactly is going on in her life to have caused her this much trouble. But much to his dismay, Izaya was absent for two more days, this time she was taking care of Mairu, who caught the sickness.

Shinra frowned when he saw Izaya walk into the classroom and sit down. He knew that Izaya isn’t stupid, he also knew that Izaya would expect him to ask questions now, so he didn’t. But he saw the signs. The way Izaya swayed with every so other step, how Izaya for once is wearing make-up, and even more to his surprise, how her hair was tied up. If anything Shinra knew that Izaya is slowly getting worn down from the daily routine of giving the twins medication. According to herself, Kururi and Mairu’s medicine time is two hours apart; Shinra figured that Izaya has been waking up in the middle of REM sleep cycle atleast more than once a night.

He only caught Izaya when she chose to go to the library for lunch. So Shinra quickly ate his lunch, and followed her. Once he was in the library, he went to the furthest table, and sat across Izaya, who was napping. He only watched, wondering why someone like Izaya is even able to function with her kind of schedule. Amazed that at the age of 16 she was already mastering parkour and have the precision with knives and other sharp trajectories. Shinra got carried away that he reached over, keeping his eyes on the vein that was visible in the back of Izaya’s hand. His finger brushed against it; enough to let Shinra know that something was wrong.

Izaya was warm. Too warm for her own good. With this, Shinra let out an annoyed sigh and shook Izaya by the shoulder. He was nearly slapped as Izaya swatted the hand away and sat up.

“I’m fine” she murmured. “Just a little tired”

“Orihara-chan I think you have a fever—“

“I don’t” Izaya murmured as she sat back and picked up the book again.

“okay…but Kadota told me about your eating habits”

“They’re fine.”

“Izaya, he told me that you’re getting about less of a plate, that’s not healthy”

“Shinra you’re not my mom” Izaya chided. “As long as Mairu and Kururi can eat, then I’m fine. “

“What about you?” Shinra asked.

“That’s none of your concern”

“It is when Kadota won’t stop complaining to me about it.”

“Well then I’ll just let Dotachin know that I’m fine” Izaya said as she stood up and stretched.

“Izaya, I think you might have Anorexia Nervosa”

“Great” he heared Izaya mumble to herself. “More problems about me” she let out a sigh and turned to Shinra. “What am I supposed to do? Tell you that I didn’t know?”

“Izaya you should get treated if you knew so already”

“By whom and by how?” Izaya spat back as she reached for her hair.

“A specialist”

“With what money Shinra?” Izaya huffed out, looking away.

“With the money your parents—“ Shinra stopped mid sentenced as he slowly pieced things together.

“When did they cut you off?” he asked. His hand formed a fist when he asked. Sure, Shinra is not interested in humans. He has minimal incline to try and understand, because he has Celty. And maybe, _just maybe_ , had Shinra paid attention to human interactions he could understand why parents do what they do. From loving their children to abandoning them. Shinra would openly admit that his relationship with his father is not the best; who lets a child dissect a Dullahan at age four? But even with the divorce, his father still managed to provide him a roof to live under and food. And he knows from experience and interaction that Shizuo grew up in  “happy home”, where his parents were understanding and nice to Shizuo, where he and Kasuka cared for each other. Same with Kadota.

So when he looked up at Izaya, who looked away from him; he couldn’t understand. Any parent would _love_  to have Izaya. Sure she has a bad reputation now, but the Izaya he heard about in elementary and the one in middle school—parents would kill to have a child like her. Afterall, who wouldn’t want a gifted, talented, and brilliant child? His attention snapped back to her when he heard let out a sigh.

“When did they cut you off?” he repeated. He watched as Izaya looked at him through her peripheries, letting out even and calculated breathes. “Izaya-“ Izaya immediately stood up and looked away.

“Don’t worry about it” Izaya answered as she walked away from Shinra. “And it’s not your business until I go to you because of this ‘diagnosis’ you have of me.” She finished before exiting the library.

So the next day Shinra sat in his seat during lunch time, with Kadota and Shizuo as his company. But his mind was somewhere else. He frowned, cursing at this mind for thinking about Izaya, when he could be thinking about Celty. His frown deepened when he recalled what Izaya told him before they graduated Junior High. _“I grew up in a normal family”_ It was a statement that Izaya made out of the blue. Just on the way to get their certificates, she mumbled. As if it was a fact she detest, or a lie that she tries to believe.

“Shinra you okay?” Shizuo finally asked.

“Huh?” He replied as he snapped out of his reverie. “Oh sorry, my mind just wandered” he mused. “Have you heard anything from Izaya?” Shinra asked. He glanced at Shizuo, who seemed to not have cared at the mention of the name.

“Oh yeah, the twins are doing a lot better, so she’ll be ‘back’” Kadota said. “Whatever that means”

“hmm” Shinra hummed as he ate his lunch. “Hey Kadota…” Shinra started. “Can you…can you stop pestering Izaya about her eating habits?” he asked.

"Shinra we’ve talked about this—“

“Kadota it’s literally out of her control” Shinra stated. “She...we can’t do anything about it, so stop” he finished.

“What's going on with the flea?” Shizuo finally asked. “It’s kind of weird for both of you to show this much concern”

“Oh nothing.” Shinra immediately said. “It’s just that...you know, if she took care of the twins when they’re sick, she might’ve gotten the bug too. It’s best if you stay away from her a bit, you know, make sure you don’t get sick.

*********

If there was another thing that bothered Shinra is Izaya’s body temperature. In the years they have interacted, Izaya was never that warm. He’s always known her for having a lower body temperature than normal. But she was warm. Warm enough that even Shinra could tell that she’s running a fever. He looked back to see that Izaya was sitting on her seat with her head on the desk cradled by her arms. Sure her cheeks weren’t red, nor eyes are puffy, but Shinra could tell that there was something wrong with her.

“I am not cleaning with you” Shizuo muttered to Izaya as everyone packed up. Izaya ignored Shizuo, aggravating him more; She was on her phone, clicking away and nodded. “Did you not hear me?!” He finally said raising his voice. Izaya glared at Shizuo and smiled.

“I heard you perfectly well!” she cheered. “I’m not forcing you to stay with me Shizu-chan, you can leave if you want.”

“I will—“

“And then Sensei will see me working all by myself!”

“Like anyone cares!!” Shizuo said as he turned around. “NO ONE DOES!” he finally said.

“And then the school will hate you more because you left me to do all the work.” Izaya finished. Smile plastered on her face.

“I’ll help you” Shinra finally said. At this Shizuo turned to him, a smile beaming on his face. “Really!?” Shizuo asked.

“Yeah, so go ahead Shizuo-kun” Shinra said. He looked over to see that Izaya had her arms crossed in front of her, while she had a scowl on her face. The smile returned when Shizuo turned around.

“I hope you appreciate what I’m doing” Shinra said. As he picked up the broom.

“I do” Izaya responded as she picked up the chalk board eraser. “Because you should be spending your time with Celty”

“Well, I do love Celty” Shinra mused. He looked over to see that Izaya had stopped erasing and looked at him. She only nodded and continued. The rest of the time was quiet. It was almost calming. Almost.

See, Shinra met Izaya in Junior High. Back when she was still the silent observant and brilliant girl everyone knew and thought she was. She was and she still is. Shinra found her fascination with humans funny, but he also knew that if he needed to make friends, she would be the one. He often thought of how impressed he would be with himself, and of course how Celty would be impress, if he had befriended the ‘Brilliant Ice Queen’ as what everyone claimed her to be. Brilliant not only because Izaya was intelligent, but also because she almost, _almost_ , shines when she’s in the sunlight [compared to their dull uniform]. ‘Ice Queen’ not because she’s cold, but because she kept herself distant, and her touch, as rumors proved to be true, are cold but gentle. It’s the kind that you feel when it snows and snow lands on your bare skin. Cold, but warm as your body begin to respond to its environment.

That was Izaya. She functioned as a warning, a signal; much like how snow warns the person of the cold temperature, but also a signal that winter is here. Izaya, for now was signal for trouble; that bad things are on the way. But are they really that bad? Shinra asked. Celty and Shizuo would say so, Kadota would shrug, and Izaya would agree. But sometimes Shinra would look at it the other way, what were some of the good outcomes from Izaya’s presence? He’s not trying to justify Izaya’s actions. But he knows. He knows that Izaya will not fight to change the views of other people, especially when it’s about her. He’s noticed that while he was befriending her. How she didn’t even have the need nor did she feel inclined to prove people wrong. She was the opposite of a Byronic hero, the plain jane, the ‘Mary Sue’ and other what have yous in stories.

He glanced over Izaya, seeing that she moved onto cleaning the windows. He walked over when he saw her stop, focusing on an image below. He looked over his shoulder and saw Shizuo with someone from another class. Shinra smiled when he saw that he and the girl were holding hands. He looked at Izaya, who was already back to wiping the windows, but Shinra could tell that she was thinking of something.

“Don’t even think about-“

“Am I that horrible of a person for you think that I’m going to touch Shizuo’s girlfriend?” Izaya interrupted as she moved around. “I have better things to do than to cause High school drama” Izaya continued. “Plus…Shizu-chan will ruin it by himself…and it’ll be more fun that way” she finished. Shinra waited for Izaya to keep going, but to his surprise, she didn’t. She stopped and continued to clean. This, to a degree, troubled Shinra. This is the Izaya he knew. The silent one. The one that’s putting up a face of calm, hiding the storm. He knew that Izaya was thinking, not planning, but thinking. The loud and obnoxious Izaya that Kadota and Shizuo know isn’t really who she is. And Shinra doesn’t know how to feel about him being the only one who knows about this side of Izaya.

And that's the most annoying part. Izaya is a signal, but she doesn't have a signal. There isn't much that can give anyone an idea of what goes through her mind. Shinra knew that the twins themselves would cooperate with Izaya, that if anything is wrong, all three of them would play it off as if everything's okay. Yes, Izaya is a signal for many things; but when it comes to warning and signals for her, unless it's an angry or exasperated Shizuo, there is no telling of what Izaya is thinking or going through. Shinra can only guess, but he needed Izaya to talk. Words are the only tangible things that Shinra can use and have that helps him 'figure out' Izaya, but that in itself is playing another puzzle, which words should he pay attention too? He frowned the more he thought about it; he shook his head and turned around, scanning the classroom in hopes of clearing his mind. “…nra…Shinra!” He heard Izaya yell. Shinra flinched and turned, facing Izaya who was packing up.

“Sorry I dazed off for a couple of minutes”

“….” Izaya just stared at him.

“What?” he asked.

“If you call half an hour a ‘couple of minutes’ then I guess you’re not lying” Izaya remarked. “Also, what do you want?” she asked as she turned to him.

“Excuse me?”

“What do you want? You usually try to pass the cleaning duty to Kadota or me, so what is it?”

“Can’t a friend just help a friend out?” Shinra asked. He inwardly flinched when he saw the frown on Izaya’s face. He knew what that meant. Izaya doesn’t have to say it. ‘ _Is that really what you call this is? This friendship?_ “C’mon Orihara-chan, what’s on your mind?”

“…” Izaya walked to the door and looked at Shinra. “Imagine this…” she began. “You’re in your house and you walk outside to see it’s already dark…and you ask yourself…’where did this day go? What did I even do today?...and every answer you come up with is either blank or disappoints you…no matter what you do differently…you keep doing that everyday…and then suddenly you realize….that ten years have passed by with the same question….how would you feel?” she finished.

“Izaya I don’t understand” he confessed; at this Izaya offered him a smile, a smile so small and fragile that it sent off alarms in Shinra’s head. _Something is definitely wrong._ He thought, but before he could add to his answer, Izaya responded.

“…I don’t think anyone ever will” she said as she walked out of the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is honestly so weird to type out 'Orihara-chan' after years of hearing, reading and typing out 'Orihara-kun'. Also, I know that Izaya's analogy/question is a bit up in the air in terms of it's meaning, and I will get to that in a later chapter. But feel free to tell me how you interpret it.  
> I'm not quite sure on how old Shinra was when he dissected Celty, so feel free to correct me on that.  
> Izaya is also not canonically called "the Ice Queen", but maybe fairy tale "The Snow Queen" will have a role in this story [it is also a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale -- reference to chapter 1]
> 
> I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter! and I promise that we are getting close to Shizuo getting involve [I may even change this chapter's and the previous chapter's name to Introduction Side C/D]
> 
> Until the next chapter, thank you!!


	5. Heiwajima Shizuo, the walking yield sign

“I swear to you both” Izaya began as she held Mairu and Kururi by their shoulders. Left hand on Kururi’s right shoulder, while the right hand is on Mairu’s left shoulder; “I will look for you two the moment you leave my sight” she finished. The twins nodded. It’s been two days since Mairu’s last dose was taken, Kururi’s was five. And Izaya promised the twins that she’ll take them to the park once they were both done with their medication.

Both twins nodded and ran off, staying in front of Izaya. She couldn’t help but smile to herself, seeing how happy both her sisters are. She sat down and kept an eye on them. She minded off the nausea that she was feeling, along with her minor headache. She quickly looked around, seeing that people were staring at her. Afterall, Izaya is wearing a black parka [sans fur trims] and her red scarf. She couldn’t help it; she simply felt cold, extremely cold, so she wore her warmest clothes. She ignored them and went back to watching her sisters play around in the playground. She was sitting there peacefully, but soon became restless when the nausea and pain in her head increased. It was as if everything attacked her at the same time. Muscle pains, chills, nausea, and headache. Izaya was going to call out for the twins, but she realized that it’s only been ten minutes since they got to the park. And she promised them atleast half an hour. They've been cooped up in their house; Due to her fearing that one or both of them would relapse, causing more complications that she would like to avoid.

*********

Izaya jolted awake when a cold breeze rushed past her. She opened her eyes, realizing that she had fallen asleep. Her nausea hasn’t gone away, in fact it felt worst. But what’s worst is that neither Kururi nor Mairu were in her sight. She immediately stood up, panic sinking deep into her system as well as dizziness from the sudden movement. _Kidnappers are on the rise_ she heard in the back of her head. Izaya couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread and panic fill her as she began to look around the park.

“What cute kids you are!” someone said behind Kururi and Mairu. The twins looked back, seeing a man in a business suit, holding a suitcase. The two were hiding from Izaya, seeing as their sister were nodding off, they wanted to play a prank. Mairu just stared while Kururi opted to grab Mairu’s hand. “Awe c’mon, I don’t mean any harm-“ The two then heard the sound of bells ringing, they turned and saw a crepe stand.

“Do you two want a crepe?” the man asked. Mairu ignored him, while Kururi began to lead them away. The two sensed danger, and they wanted to go back to Izaya quickly. Much to their dismay, the park is filled with people, and neither of them could recall the direction that they came from. Kururi looked at Mairu, who seemed ready to storm up to the man and kick him in between the legs, but she tugged bag, mumbling ‘Iza-nee’

“You’re looking for your older sister? I can help”

“No thank you” Kururi finally said. As she turned around.

“Hey let go!!” Mairu yelled. Kururi looked back to see that the man had a hold of Mairu’s hand.

‘Mairu!!!! Kururi!!!’ the twins heard, they turned their heads and saw Izaya. With one of her hands by her mouth, yelling out their name as she walked around.

“Iza-n--!!” Mairu started but was cut off. The man had immediately started to run with Mairu. Kururi was pulled along, and she tried to stall, yelling out Izaya’s name. She hesitated when she heard Mairu whimpering. Suddenly, a knife was thrown in their direction, marking the man in the cheek. But this seemed to have encouraged him, pulling harder on Mairu, causing Kururi to fall forward. She was being dragged along by Mairu, who refused to let go her hand. Then they heard it, their sister yelling out their name, They looked as they were pulled, seeing Izaya run after them. And they finally realized it -- Izaya is severely sick. From the redness of her cheeks, to the speed in which she ran.

Then they heard it. Something that made both girls want to murder the man that’s dragging them right now. “Your sister is a real beauty, people will _pay_ for that face and body.” Something within both Kururi and Mairu snapped. The man was interested in them, but the fact that he dared to involve and endanger their older sister was something unforgivable to them. Kururi held Mairu’s hand tighter, who looked at her older sister. ‘Stay together’ she whispered. So Mairu did the next best thing. Cry.

So far the girls’ yelling for help didn’t help, but Mairu’s crying seemed to have helped when the man was suddenly stopped by a trashcan.

“YOU’RE PISSING ME OFF!!!” They heard. Next thing they knew they saw a blonde man who was wearing a uniform from their sister’s school. They watched him as he ripped off a yield sign from the road and walked over to them. “This is why the flea thrives around in this city!! It’s full of shitty people like you!!” he yelled. The twins watched as the blonde fought the man, yelling something about ‘honest business’, ‘scum’, ‘flea’, and ‘something smells like shit’, and that all of them have been ‘pissing him off’. Then it finally clicked to Mairu.

“He’s Shizu—“

“Are you two okay?” the blonde asked as he walked over to them. Kururi stood in front of Mairu, and the twins saw a pang of guilt and worry on his face. “…yeah I’d be scared too if you saw something like that huh?” he asked as he scratched the back of his head, looking at the direction he threw the man. “Where’s your family?” the twins refused to answer. “I swear, if I find your guardian I might just beat them up too—“ Kururi was about to protest. Izaya does not deserve any punishment for this mishap.           

“C’mon let me take you to the police—“ at this the twins immediately shook their head. They do not want Izaya to go to the police. Not again. They don’t know what would happen should their parents find out that Izaya had gone to them, _again._ They looked at the boy and backed away, to which he let a sigh. “Listen, I’m not here to kidnap you two, but I don’t want to leave you two either. So I’ll help you look for your guardian—“ Suddenly a knife flew in their direction, nicking the man on the cheeks. All three looked to the direction of the knife and saw Izaya.

“Sh..Shizu-chan?!?” She exclaimed. She immediately made eye contact with the twins, to whom she rushed to. “You’re both safe!” she exclaimed as she embraced them.

“You irresponsible—“ but Shizuo never got to finish that sentence as the twins immediately fell down.

“Iza-nee?!” Mairu exclaimed as she sat up and wrapped her arms around her sister’s neck. She let a gasp and looked at Kururi. “She’s really warm!! Like hot tea warm!!” Shizuo tried to step closer, but Kururi immediately hugged Izaya and looked at him.

“You’re…you’re Shizu-chan right?!” she asked. Shizuo brushed off the nickname and nodded. “…I-“

“Stay back!!” Mairu yelled as she turned. “You…you’ve hurt Iza-nee a lot! And she doesn’t need to be hurt right now-“ she paused as tears began to roll down her eyes. “She’s in a lot pain right now, she’s just not expressing it!! Leave us alone-“ Shizuo immediately hugged the two girls and gently, as gentle as he could, and mess with their hair.

“I’m not going to hurt the fle—“ he paused and let out a sigh. “I’m not going to hurt Izaya” he finished. “I’ll call the hospital-“

“No hospital!” Kururi exclaimed. “Hospitals are bad for Iza-nee!” Shizuo only stared at the girl and nodded. “I can call our friend Shin-“

“Home!” Mairu yelled. “Iza-nee needs to go home!” she exclaimed.

“She needs to see a doctor—“

“No!!” Mairu yelled. “They’ll take Iza-nee away from us!!” she finished.

“ALLRIGHT!!” Shizuo yelled, scaring the twins. Shizuo was beginning to attract a crowd, it didn’t help that he had an unconscious Izaya and two screaming little girls. He walked up to Izaya and carefully carried her so that her chest was against his back, and his arms lopped under her legs. He shrugged his shoulders, making Izaya’s arms dangle and rest on his chest. He motioned for the twins to lead the way, and much to his surprise, they both held onto Izaya’s ankles. 

*********

The journey to Izaya’s house was by all means, weird. Shizuo had to carry Izaya all the way. In the station, he had to cradle her on his lap. He glared at someone who was nearly about to take a picture of them. He frowned once he realized the neighborhood that he was in. It wasn’t very grand or affluent, but it is one that screamed “upper middle class”. He stood in front of the house, gazing at the size of it.

“C’mon in” he heard one of the twins say [he still couldn’t tell them apart.]

“Shouldn’t we let your parents know that I’m over?”

“No need” the other twin said as they reached out for Izaya.

“But I’m—“

“They’re abroad so it doesn’t matter” the twins said in unison. Once he entered, Shizuo took his shoes off as carefully as he could. He hated Izaya, but he also knew that he should never drop a person, especially when they’re sick. The twins led him up the stairs, and then into Izaya’s room. He was surprised at how empty it looked, and even more surprised when he turned to see boxes in the corner. _Did they recently move?_ He asked himself. He walked over to the bed and gently laid Izaya on it. At first all three just stared at her. Surprised that she didn’t wake up. It’s then that Shizuo finally saw just how much Izaya was suffering from the fever. Her cheeks were red, mouth agape as she breathed in and out, beads of sweat forming on her forehead, and most of all, the pained expression displayed by her furrowed eyebrows and eye lids shut tight. They heard her groan as she tossed and turned. The three just watched, wondering what they should do.

“…”

“What?” Shizuo asked as he turned to one of the twins.

“We need to change her clothes” Shizuo finally said. “It’s bad to let her sleep in sweat drenched clothes”

“okay!” one of the twins said. With that they ran out of the room, bringing back a couple of towels. The twins stared at Shizuo, who in return stared back at them.

“Well?” the other asked. “Aren’t you going to change her??”

“HAHHH??!” Shizuo exclaimed. He looked at the twins and then Izaya, then back at the twins. “Listen I only agreed to carry her back here! Not take care of her—“ he paused when they heard Izaya stir.

“But we’re not strong enough to change her!” the other twin protested. “She’s kind of heavy for us, how are we supposed to put new clothes on her?”

“I am not undressing that flea” Shizuo

“please??” both twins pleaded. “All we really need is for someone to hold her up!” the other finished.

“…” Shizuo stayed silent. He crossed his arms in front of him and stared at the twins.

“You can keep your eyes closed!” the other twin reassured. “We’ll let you know if you can look….but” there was a pause. “We’ll understand if you take a peek” Shizuo formed his hands into a fist and stared at Izaya. This is about to be the most terrible day of his life.

********* 

Shizuo sat down on the couch in the living once he finished helping the twins change Izaya. The house was quiet, save for Kururi and Mairu’s murmur.

“Hey” Shizuo called out. The twins looked at him and stopped talking. “So if your parents are abroad, who takes care of you?”

“Iza-nee”they said in unison. 

“You don’t get a babysitter?”

“No”

“…Who cooks and cleans?”

“Iza-nee”

“Who drops and picks you up at school?”

“Iza-nee”

“Who-“

“Not to be rude, but only Iza-nee and us live in this house. Whatever Kuru-nee and I need, she does it” one of the twins replied. 

“What about finances?"

“Our parents sends us enough for an entire month, they leave it to Iza-nee—well they used to leave it to Iza-nee”

“So…who’ll take care of you two?”

“Iza-nee” they both whispered. “…she’s done it before…take care of us while she’s sick”

“That was probably a cold”

“What would you know?” Kururi asked. Shizuo stared at the twins, for seven yer olds, they were able to handle and answer the questions without much fuss; He leaned back on the couch, before letting out a sigh. “Okay, I’ll be back” Shizuo said as he stood up.

“…what?” they both asked.

“I’ll be right back, I’m going to go home, get some change of clothes, and come back”

“But why?” they asked.

“I’m not doing this for your shitt- I mean, I’m doing this for you two” Shizuo said. “You two are too young, and who knows? Your _nee-san_ might just set the house on fire.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shizuo finally appears!! I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter [this is rather short than the others, so I may update soon].   
> I need your input! I'm still undecided on how far Izaya and Shizuo's relationship will go; it's between platonic and passion. Of course it will affect the ending [I have a couple of endings], so I was wondering what you all would like to see. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!   
> Until the Next Chapter!


	6. To take care of someone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shizuo stays over to help take care of Kururi and Mairu -- but the twins had other plans.

Izaya stirred in her bed before she jolted awake. She looked around, and realized that she was in her room, she jumped out of bed and immediately ran to her door. Screw her nausea, screw her headache. She bolted for the stairs. There were two things in her mind, her twin sisters. She saw them last being dragged by a man in a suit. She heard them last screaming for her, and finally, she remember embracing them. She ran down the stairs, catching herself when she slipped and collided against the wall.

“Iza-nee?” She heard Kururi asked. She looked over her shoulder and saw the twins staring back at her. Both of them were standing on a stool in the kitchen. “Kururi??” Izaya mumbled. “Mairu??” she walked over to them and embraced them. At first they tensed and then they heard it. Sobbing. Izaya, their _Iza-nee_ , is crying. Breaking down in front of them. They felt the hug get tighter, as well as Izaya shaking.

“Thank god” she mumbled. “Thank god that both of you are safe. I thought I lost you both…” They felt Izaya pull away from them. The twins couldn’t help but smile, but they also couldn’t help looking at Shizuo. Izaya followed their gazes and made eye contact with him. She breathed and was about to yell, but the twins stopped her.

“He helped us!!” Mairu immediately interrupted. “He carried you here!” Izaya shot her younger sister a glare, and then at Shizuo. “Iza-nee…” Kururi began. “He’s going to stay over and help you-“

“He doesn’t need to do that” Izaya said as she stood up. She grasped her head when she felt the floor beneath her spin. She also felt her sisters' grip on her. “I can…I can take care of you, without _their_ help”

“Iza-nee”

“Hey” Shizuo began as he took a step forward. He raised his hands up in a mock surrender and looked at Izaya. “I’m not here to chase you around…I’m here to take care of your sisters” he paused when he saw Izaya flinch.

“I don’t need you to-“

“Izaya stop thinking about yourself and think about your sisters”

“I—“ she paused and looked down at both Mairu and Kururi. “I…” then she looked down again. She was wearing her maroon long sleeved shirt and  black pajama bottoms. “who changed me?”

“We did!” the twins cheered.

 “…” Izaya looked at Shizuo, who looked away with a blush in his face. Her eyes widened at the realization. “You—“

“I didn’t see anything!”

“Oh he saw everything!”

********* 

_“Just hold her!” one of the twins chided. “We’ll let you know when you can open your eyes”_

_“I…allright, lets get this over with.”_

_“Yay!!! Kuru-nee can you get Iza-nee’s clothes and undies??” The girl shizuo now knows as ‘Kuru-nee’ walked to Izaya’s closet and picked out pajamas, while the other girl ran out and came back with a damp and dry towel. “Close your eyes!!” the girl said. Shizuo let out a sigh and closed his eyes while he held Izaya in a sitting up position. It was weird for him. He could feel every tug, pull, and push the twins made to undress Izaya. He even flinched when his hands touched Izaya’s skin. She was warm, too warm for her own good. It did help that Izaya leaned in to his touch. She swayed in her sleep, causing her to nearly fall as Shizuo lost grip on her. He opened his eye by surprised and immediately caught Izaya, but soon closed his eyes. He could feel a blush settle on his cheeks, and much to luck, Mairu began to think of something._

_"Wow Iza-nee sure grew a lot huh??” he heard._

_“Mairu?” her ‘Kuru-nee’ asked._

_“I mean remember when Iza-nee’s breasts were so small? Now look at them! They’re so nice and big—“_

_“Mairu”_

_“What? Kuru-nee you can’t deny it! Our older sister is blooming into such a nice lady! I wonder if anyone is interested in her…”_

_“Mairu”_

_“I’m just saying!!” there was pause along with some tugging and pushing. “Oh and Heiwajima-san can open your eyes now” Why Shizuo trusted the twins, he will never know. So he opened his eyes. And lo and behold he saw Izaya only wearing her underwear._

_"Mairu!!” the other girl exclaimed._

_"She’s practically dressed!” Mairu exclaimed. “Look her boobs and butt are covered, so she’s good!” they looked at Shizuo, who was blushing and looking away. He didn’t want to see Izaya like this. He didn’t want to be holding her like this. He just wanted to spend his Saturday afternoon with his younger brother and play games. But no, he’s stuck in Izaya’s room, holding her naked—sparsely dressed—while the twins dressed her up._

_"cold..” he heard her mumble. He looked at the twins, who looked like they were having a silent argument, and caught their attention._

_"Hey I think—“ He was cut off when he heard a phone ringing. Next thing he knew the twins were racing down the stairs. He was left with Izaya and clothes. So he gently laid her down and let out a sigh, before grabbing the clothes and putting them on Izaya._

_**********_

“….” Izaya only stared at her twin sisters before looking at Shizuo. He was looking away, scratching the back of his head. “You…”

“I didn’t see anything!” Shizuo yelled. He looked at the two girls and then Izaya. “What was I supposed to do?! They left me with you upstairs and kept mumbling ‘cold’!”

“You could’ve just tossed a blanket over me!”

“And what let you wake up colder and naked!?”

“YE-“ Izaya paused and immediately bolted for the bathroom nearby. Shizuo ran after her and kneeled next to her, rubbing her back and holding her hair.

“Don’t…touch me” Izaya mumbled before she began to throw up again. Shizuo ignored her and continued to massage Izaya’s back while holding her hair.

“Shut up, you’re sick, so for once, stop being a pain.” His answer was Izaya retching and glaring at him after.

“I’m always a pain no matter what I do” she responded as she stood up. She wobbled a bit before holding onto the counter for support. She rinsed her mouth and then her face before reaching back for the towel. She peeked at Shizuo and tossed the towel to her shoulder and walked out of the bathroom. Shizuo followed, watching carefully. Izaya opened a drawer and took out a flu mask, putting one on her and then walking to the stove. She looked at Kururi and Mairu were doing before turning to them and then looking at the pot. She leaned back on the counter, motioning for the girl to resume. Mairu measuring the Miso mix, while Kururi tried to cut the seaweed. Shizuo leaned on the other side of the counter.

“Don’t even think about messing it up on purpose” he heard Izaya snarl. Shizuo looked at the twins to see that they had gotten some random spice and thought about putting it in the miso soup. The two suddenly looked guilty and nodded, turning back at the pot and then stirred that soup. Izaya turned to look at Shizuo, “Can you please stop staring? It’s making me feel worst.

“Maybe I should keep staring” Shizuo taunted, leaning towards Izaya. Izaya flinched away and glared. “If you’re not here to help, then leave” she spat at him.

“He’s staying!” both of the twins exclaimed. Izaya turned to face her sisters and glared. “You…You actually need to rest!” Kururi added, stepping down the stool and tugging on Izaya’s pajama bottoms. “You’ve been getting sick too often!”

“I have not-“ Izaya tried to protest, only to be silenced by Kururi.

“You’ve been coming home with injuries!” she yelled.

“You visit Shinra often…”

“And the pills-“ at this Izaya covered Kururi’s mouth with her hand.

“I get it” she hissed. “I get it” she repeated; calming down and embracing Kururi.  “I’m sorry” she mumbled before standing up. But the ground underneath Izaya suddenly felt unstable, and next thing she knew, she was falling forward.

“Hey, are you okay?” She heard as she was slowly turned around. She made eye contact with Shizuo, who looked nervous and worried, Izaya only nodded and looked at the twins before flashing them a smile and reaching up for the edge of the counter.

“Couch” Kururi murmured as she stood still on her stool. Izaya nodded, swatting away Shizuo’s arm and walked over to the couch. She curled up, but still kept an eye on the twins in the kitchen. Shizuo on the other hand, stayed with the twins in the kitchen, he glanced back at Izaya before letting out a sigh and turning his back to Izaya.

“The faster you get better, the faster I’m out of here” Shizuo said. “The twins will wake you up when we’re done making dinner, so rest.”

“Don’t tell me what to do” Izaya snapped before she started coughing. She looked over to see that Kururi was whispering something in the beast's ear. Shizuo nodded, temporarily leaving the twins unattended in the kitchen, but soon come back with Izaya’s blanket. He dumped it on her, turned on the TV and pretty much pushed her head against the cushion, “Relax, I’m not going to kill you in your sleep."

“I’m not worried about that” Izaya confessed. “You’re here, that’s enough to worry over” Shizuo stepped back and shook his head.

“Why can’t you just be appreciative of things?” he asked.

“It’s not easy when you have my problems” Izaya responded. “Go away, I should be resting, after all, the faster I get better, the faster you’re out of this house” Izaya mocked as she pulled the blanket up to her shoulder. He looked over his shoulder, before rushing back to the kitchen to pull both girls away from a falling knife set.

********* 

Bed time was hell. For the umpteenth time in his life, Shizuo is thankful for Kasuka. For being understanding, patient, and kind. He formed a fist in his hand, trying to control his anger. In front of him was a bundled up Izaya and two screaming little girls. To Shizuo it was like listening to foxes screeching at each other. He couldn’t understand how this even happened. They were eating dinner silently. With Izaya eating ‘a lot more than she usually does’ his mind quoted Mairu. Which to his surprise was about how much he ate for ‘normal’ dinner. They -- he, Mairu, and Kururi [as he soon learned their names] did the dishes. Everything was fine until Izaya announced bed time. All Shizuo did was blink, and next thing he knew he was hearing shouts, yells, and seeing the twins punch at Izaya’s legs.

“nononononononononononNOOOOOOO!!” Mairu yelled as she punched Izaya’s leg repeatedly.

“Will you stop that!” Izaya yelled back. “That really hurts!!”

“Sleep with you!” Kururi yelled, letting out a sob as she hugged Izaya’s leg.

“NO!” Izaya answered. “You both cannot, and will not sleep with me!” Kururi stopped punching, looked up at Izaya, before shrieking. This seemed to encourage the two to keep crying and wailing.

“LISTEN!” Izaya yelled at the top of her lungs before letting out another fit of coughs. Shizuo noted the sound, and stepped towards Izaya, who only glared at him. “You two…just got better"

“So we’re immune to this!”

“NO” Izaya chided. “I’m not risking you two getting sick again.” She looked at both of them before continuing. “If you want me to get better, you need to let me have my own space”

“But you’ll leave!” Mairu yelled. “You’re going to wake up when we’re asleep, and leave!!”

“Mairu I do not have the energy to do that!”

“Liar!” Mairu accused. Izaya was about to say something, but only coughs came out of her mouth. Shizuo finally snapped, moving forward to the three girls, but soon stopped when he saw how Izaya reacted. She immediately pushed both of her sisters behind her, in her coughing fit. Shizuo reached out and grabbed Izaya, tearing her away from the twins.  At first the twins protested. Kururi nearly screeching, while Mairu clung tightly to the blanket. But Shizuo was mostly surprised by Izaya’s reaction. She let him take her - letting him embrace her. He began to comb Izaya’s hair with his hand before looking at the twins.

“Let her go!” Kururi yelled. “You…you chase her around! You throw things at her!! You hurt her!!!” The last sentence that came out of Kururi’s mouth irritated Shizuo.

“I did not hurt-“ he stopped when he felt Izaya squeeze him. He looked down, seeing that Izaya was staring at him, challenging him to even try to harm her sisters. “Listen…I said that I’ll take care of you two while Izaya is sick...so…”

“Sleep with her” Kururi said. Shizuo and Izaya both stiffened, Shizuo immediately looking down at the girl, while Izaya turned her head.

“Excuse me?” Izaya asked as she pushed Shizuo away from her. “I will not sleep with this brute-“ Mairu ignored her ran up to Shizuo.            

“Sleep with our sister!” they yelled. Shizuo suddenly found himself immobile as both girls grabbed onto his legs. “Make sure she doesn’t leave!”

“Make sure she stays!”

“Mairu! Kururi!!” Izaya yelled, dropping her blanket and grabbing the two away from Shizuo. The two began to flail, leading to Izaya nearly dropping Kururi, who Shizuo managed to grab in time. The two of them held a girl in each of their arms. Izaya with Mairu hugged against her chest, while Shizuo had Kururi in his arms. Both girls were screeching, urging for Izaya to sleep with Shizuo.

“HE ALREADY HAS SOMEONE!” Izaya yelled. At this the two girls stopped struggling. They looked at each other, and smiled. Shizuo on the other hand was blushing, while Izaya’s cheeks were already dusted in a red color from her fever.

“How did you know-“

“THAT’S EVEN BETTER!” Mairu yelled. “That means he won’t touch Iza-nee!” she added. Their victory was short live as Izaya immediately put Mairu down and ran to the bathroom. The other three ran after[with Kururi in Shizuo’s arms]. The twins stood by the door while Shizuo knelled next to Izaya and held her hair. They held each other’s hand, tightening their grip everytime they heard Izaya throw up. They relaxed when they heard the toilet flushing, and see Izaya slowly stand and turned the faucet on. She smiled at them after rinsing her mouth and washed her hands and dried them.

“Did we --"

“Allright” Izaya interrupted. The twins looked up at their sister, who patted their hands before she brought them into a hug. “I’ll sleep with Shizu-chan. If it makes you two feel more secured” Both the girls looked past Izaya’s, staring at Shizuo, who scratched the back of his head while scowling. Kururi placed her ear against Izaya’s stomach, closing her eyes as she listened. While Mairu looked up at her and rested her head against Izaya’s side. “Was the food bad?”

“No” Izaya ran her hand through Mairu’s hair and patted Kururi with the other. “My stomach isn’t used to eating a lot. Plus, I think it’s the bug that I got.” Both twins nodded and hugged Izaya tighter. Shizuo watched from behind, crossing his arms in front of him before letting out a sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly have no idea.  
> Thank you for reading, and until the Next Chapter!


	7. an embraced filled with air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter.

“What are you doing?” Shizuo asked as Izaya kneeled in front of her bed. Izaya frowned and glared at him, she ignored him and continued to stare at her bed; she leaned forward, reaching underneath it. Shizuo on the other hand, walked over,  picked her up and dropped Izaya on her bed. He was surprised by her silence, but smiled once he heard a groan of disdain coming from Izaya. 

"What do you—“ Izaya started as she sat up, only to stop when a wave of nausea hit her. She stabilized herself and held her head, closing her eyes and kurling into a ball.

“You clearly shouldn’t be overexerting yourself” Shizuo chided as he pulled the bed out.

“There are clean bed sheets and blankets in the hallway closet” he heard Izaya murmur. Shizuo nodded and walked out of the room. He was busy exploring the hallway the closet, that he didn't realize his own activity until the two little girls, who were wearing matching pajamas, bumped into him. .

“Iza-nee…” Kururi murmured as they herd her cough.

“Here!” Mairu grabbed Shizuo’s hand and dropped a clear plastic box. He looked at it to see ibuprofen pills, as well as gel pills.

“Where did you—“ He heard something fall downstairs, prompting him to drop the items in his arms and run down the stairs. The twins followed, Kururi trying to hide Mairu once Shizuo saw the mess. He could tell that the twins tried to clean up after themselves; but the shelves. He could see that a couple of shelves fell over, and various medicines littered the floor.

“What—“

“It’s not our fault that they’re up so high!” Mairu yelled as she grabbed Kururi’s hand. Shizuo looked at the twins, seeing that tears were pooling in the corner of their eyes. He scratched the back of his head, and let out a sigh. Izaya has already shown herself to be overprotective of these two, and Shizuo knew better than to anger a snake when he’s in its burrow. So he let out a sigh and looked at the twins before walking into the kitchen and crouching down to look at the mess.

“I’m not mad” he started as he looked at the two pill boxes the twins gave him. “I know why you did this. And I’m not mad.” He stood up and placed the tablet boxes on the counter. “But you two will need to help me clean this mess up” The twins nodded.

 *********

“You took a while” Izaya said as Shizuo entered the room. Shizuo nodded and closed the door. “You should be sleeping”

“What did the twins spill this time?” Izaya ignored, sitting up and propping herself against the wall. Shizuo glanced at her, realizing just how bad Izaya’s fever is. “Can you stop staring? I know how bad it is” she snarled as she wrapped the blanket tighter around her. Shizuo nodded and walked to Izaya, handing her the glass of water and the ibuprofen.

“Here, take this, it’ll help with the fever and muscle pains” Izaya only stared at the pill, and then glaced up at Shizuo.

“I hate drugs” she quipped as she shivered and wrapped herself tighter in the blankets.

“They said that you would say that” He looked at the pills and then at Izaya. “So let’s play a game” Izaya eyed him, raising a brow; this caught Shizuo by surprise, he would usually see a smirk on Izaya’s face by now. But Izaya is showing him caution, and apprehension.

“What game?” she asked. Shizuo placed the cup of water on Izaya’s desk, freeing his hand to reach into his pocket. Izaya watched in mild curiosity, wondering just what the beast in front of her has in mind for this ‘game’ they’re going to play.

_“Iza-nee hates candy wrappers, but what she hates more is the candy itself” Mairu said as she gave Shizuo strawberry flavored milk candy._

_"Then why have these?”_

_“For us” Kururi clarified._

 Izaya scowled when she saw the light pink treats wrapped in slightly opaque white paper resting on Shizuo’s palm. “Whoever unwraps the candy fastest is the winner” Shizuo said; Izaya grabbed one and immediately unwrapped it, tossing the treat into her mouth, frowning as she swallowed it. She wiped her lips with the back of her hands and looked at Shizuo.

“There” She was surprised when Shizuo didn’t react to her at all. She was sure that she had her smirk on her face, and yet Shizuo seemed unfazed.

“You didn’t let me finish” he clarified. “First one to unwrap the candy with their tongue wins” Shizuo held back a smile as he saw Izaya’s eyes widening. He could’ve swore that Izaya’s cheek got redder. Regardless he knew that Izaya was not fond of the idea.

“you could’ve informed me-“

“You didn’t give me the time” Shizuo chuckled, taking out another strawberry milk candy. He urged Izaya to take one, motioning for her to wait before she popped the candy in her mouth. “At the count of three”

“Let’s just get this over with”

 “One…two….three!” Shizuo and Izaya immediately tossed the wrapped candy in their mouths and began their contest. Much to Izaya’s dismay, Shizuo kept eye contact her – unsettling her and making her lose focus. There was a smirk on Shizuo’s face, which angered her. She nearly choked when Shizuo reached up for his lips, pulling out a wrapper drenched in his saliva. Izaya immediately spat out her candy, with the wrapper halfway off, catching it in the palms of her hand; the movement made her dizzy for a bit, but what disgusted Izaya more was the feeling of her saliva on her palms, and the sight of a thin string of saliva that connected Shizuo’s lips to the wrapper that he removed.

Shizuo smiled when he saw Izaya spit out the candy, more so that he managed to beat her. He was even surprised that he was able to do it, in fact he was able to do it a lot fast than her. His victory was shortlived when Izaya began to cough. Remembering why he even played the game, Shizuo grabbed the water that was sitting on Izaya’s desk and gave her the Ibuprofen pills. He watched as she tossed the pills in her mouth, dry swallowing them, before grabbing the cup of water from Shizuo’s hold. She handed him the glass back while wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She glared at him, and Shizuo couldn’t tell if she was blushing or her fever rose. So he placed his hand on Izaya’s forehead, only to have it swatted away a second later.

“You’re really burning” he remarked as he set the glass on Izaya’s desk.

“What made you even think of such a game?!” Izaya spat.

“Your sisters actually recommended it” he confessed as he tugged on the bed sheet covers of the pullout bed.

“Do you even know what this game implies?” she asked.

“Nope”

“….just don’t let them know that you actually played it” Izaya chided. “It’ll get you some unwanted attention from my sisters” Izaya finished as she stood up. Shizuo tried to stop her, only to have her glare at him for the umpteenth time. She opened the door, revealing Kururi, who was holding a set of towels.

 “Bath” she mumbled as she handle Izaya the towels. “Alright, get Mairu, I’ll set the bath.” Izaya looked back at Shizuo who stiffened up, only to relax when Izaya spoke again. “There are cleaner blankets are in the closet, feel free to grab a fresh one.

Shizuo only watched her as she wobbled her way out of the door. He let out a sigh and shook his head, returning to changing the bed sheet and tossing the old one into the corner of the room. He moved the bed away from Izaya’s and laid down. His Saturday was surprisingly stressful. First they had classes where Izaya skipped again. The issue didn’t bother him, since its Izaya, the surprising factor was the fact that it was the school’s nurse who came in and told the homeroom teacher that Izaya is ‘in no condition to attend’; but Izaya being Izaya broke that rule when free period started. She skipped into class, and sat right on Kadota’s desk. “I can’t leave my partner to do all the work by themselves.” She announced, smirking when she saw Shizuo break his pencil.

He was eating in Russia Sushi when he heard yelling, and smelled a stench getting stronger. So he stepped outside, threw a trashcan in the direction, unknowingly stopped a kidnapping of Izaya’s younger sisters. He was even surprised to see that the girls relied on Izaya to save them, because it’s Izaya. Shizuo has seen and heard of rumors of Izaya ruining people’s lives, she’s currently ruining his. So seeing her act like an actual older sibling threw him off guard. There was also some anomalies that he noticed in the house. There is no family picture. Well there is, but it only had the twins and Izaya’s parents. Izaya didn’t seem to look after like her parents, or the twins at all. He let out a frustrated groan and turned.

Then there were the trophies. The hallway closet filled with towels, bedsheets, and blankets had a lot of trophies behind them. At first Shizuo didn’t know what the odd looking objects were until he reached for one and took it out. “ _Izaya Orihara”_ was written on all of the trophies. And there was a lot. From slogan writing to sports meetings, from math to literature, Izaya must’ve had a trophy for each class. What’s even more surprising is that they were dated back to when they were in 3rd year of their elementary school life. Curious, he pulled out the towels on the shelf above and found more trophies. These ones were more recent – in fact they were for their highschool. That was all Shizuo could see since the twins approached him.

He let out an annoyed sigh and sat up; opting to look around at Izaya’s room. He would be lying to himself if he said that Izaya’s room disappointed him. It was... so plain. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought that he was in another person’s house, in another person’s room. The walls were bare; save for a plain looking clock. The notebooks on the desk were arrange by color; and the bookends were also plain. It annoyed Shizuo to a degree – Izaya should’ve atleast something that would have reflected her. His eyes landed on the boxes that sat in the corner of the room. Shizuo got off the bed and walked over to it; seeing that the boxes were shut tight by duct tape, he frowned and went back to the bed. He sat on the edge before looking at the clock. It’s been twenty minutes. Bored, he decided to go downstairs and retrieve his phone, or better yet, watch some TV.

 *********          

Shizuo’s eye brows twitched at the amount of notification he missed.

_15 missed calls from Kishitani Shinra_

_20 messages from Kishitani Shinra_

_5 messages from Kadota Kyouhei_

_10 messages from Okaa-san_

It took all of his patience to not snap his phone in half – partly his mom messaging him is quite a concern. He skimmed through her messages first, some were her worrying over him, while others made him cringe.

_"Did you get to the house safely?”_

_"Remember to make them hot lemonade!! And NO MILK if they’re congested”_

_“Okay Honey Milk is fine, but that’s the only dairy product they’re allowed!”_

_“You should introduce me to your girlfriend”_

_"Kasuka told me that you’re at Izaya’s house! I thought you two hated each other”_

_“Be careful!”_

He let out a breath and dialed Kasuka’s number; knowing his parents, they would be asleep by this time, and he owes Kasuka a better explanation than what he rushed.

“Aniki” Kasuka answered. “Are you allright?”

“Yeah”           

“Is Orihara-san allright?”

“Don’t worry about her” Shizuo said. “I just want you to tell our parents that I’m fine, I should be coming home around the afternoon”

“Allright…but Aniki”

“hm??”

“Will you really leave a sick person?” Kasuka asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, according to kaa-san, the flu this year is vicious…something about picking the wrong strain.”

“Well, we’ll see, I’m sure that Izaya will find a way to take care of the twins. Plus all she really needs is for her fever to break and then she’s good”

“True…” Shizuo was about to say something else, but he heard footsteps and laughter.

“TV time!! TV time!!” Shizuo said his goodbye, and looked at the twins, who were running around the living room.

 “I thought it was bed time”

“It _was_ bed time” Mairu corrected.

“No school tomorrow” Kururi quipped as she turned the TV on.

“Yeah but you’re only watching for one hour” Shizuo heard Izaya say as she stopped at the foot of the stairs. Her hair was in a messy pony tail, her bangs held to the side with hair pins. “I’m going to be upstairs-“ she stopped when she saw Mairu and Kururi whip their heads towards her. “I’ll be resting, I hurt all over”

“Even with the Ibuprofen?” Shizuo asked. Izaya ignored him, leaving with two gasping twins. “You beat her!?” they yelled as they tackled him.

Once he got them to settle down, they picked a channel, while Shizuo sat on a barstool, phone in hand. “Why are you calling me this late” Shinra answered.

“It’s the only freetime I have” he looked at the twins, who were enthralled by the show.

“Where’d you go anyway?”

“It’s a long story that I can tell on Monday"

“Makes sense, the entire day is prep day” Shinra mused. “Though I can skip and stay with Celty- OW!!”

“Sure….hey is there anything that I should know about Izaya?"

“…mind telling me the story now?”

“I’m at her house taking care of her”

“……very funny, what did you really call me for?”

“I’m not kidding!” Shizuo was met with silence, he was about to hang up until he heard Shinra let out a sigh.

“Allright, I’m guessing she got the flu”

“I don’t think it’s the flu, she keeps vomiting” _‘Was I wrong about her anorexia nervosa?’_  he heard Shinra whisper.

“Allright, if she keeps throwing up, put her on a light diet; keep it to rice porridge and simple foods. Things that are easily digestible.” Shinra hummed as he paused. “Orihara-chan hates medicine, so if she complains about the pain, try to convince her to take the medicine…or…”

“Or what?” Shizuo barked as he was getting irritated with the amount of instructions.

“Iza-nee likes massages” Kururi said from her seat on the sofa.

“Wow, you’re really there!” Shinra exclaimed. “Listen to the twins, chances are they know most of Izaya’s personal remedies.”

“Shinnnrraaa” Shizuo warned.

“Okay, okay!” Shinra cautioned. “Just treat her the way you treat Kasuka when he’s sick. Better yet, think about what your mom would do to help you relieve the pain”

 “….”

“It’s bed time” Izaya announced as she reached the bottom of the stairs. Shizuo immediately shut his phone and put it away; Izaya ignored him as she walked over to the twins. He had to admit, Izaya was good at feigning on how well she’s actually feeling.

“Bed time story?” Mairu asked as she reached up for Izaya to pick her up. Shizuo intercepted her, picking both of the twins up. Much to his surprise the girls giggled, even wrapped their arms his neck. Shizuo was so distracted and surprised by the reaction that he didn’t see Izaya’s reactions. The twins too didn’t realize just how their older sister reacted.

 *********

It lasted for a second. That’s all Izaya knew. She was in the motion of picking up her sister; something that she has done regardless if she’s sick or well. But all she caught was air. _It’s so easy to take them away_ she thought. Her hands traveled up, cupping the bottom of her face, covering her mouth as she prevented a scream from escaping her mouth. In her arms are supposed to be her sisters. But they were empty. She flinched when she heard giggling; enjoyment apparent in the twins’ laughter. Her eyes followed the laughter, resting at the edges of her peripheral view. She watched as the twins wrapped their arms around Shizuo’s neck, stuck in their laughter. Izaya tried her best to keep her eyes from going wide, but she couldn’t help it. She saw Shizuo slowly turning towards her, in which she immediately turned; keeping her back turned to Shizuo and the twins.

“Hey are you okay?” Shizuo asked. She hated the concern that dripped in his voice. “Do you need to throw-“ she disrupted him by shaking her head.

“I…dizziness” she mumbled as she turned around to face him. She kept her gaze on the floor; focusing in the woodstains. She couldn’t make eye contact with him, or the twins. It hurt. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, and didn’t want to see Shizuo carrying her sisters. Just how natural it looked to her; the beast with her devilish little sisters. Izaya couldn’t help but let a small smile form, but it wasn’t out of joy—

“What are you planning?” Shizuo asked, turning so that he was facing the staircase. That’s right. To Shizuo her smile, _this smile,_ is a smirk – to everyone it conveyed that Izaya is planning something; that she was confident. In reality what Izaya felt was despair, the smile was just there in an attempt to comfort herself from feeling the dreaded emotion.

“Nothing Shizu-chan” she chirped. Shizuo glared at her breathed ‘ _whatever you say’._  He began to walk up the stairs, the twins in his arms, who were still in their laughing fit.  Izaya watched as they went up, but soon tore her gaze and brought it down to the first step of the stairs. She…felt suffocated. She didn’t want to go upstairs; as if she felt that it’s necessary for her to stay down and sleep on the couch.

            It was too easy. _So easy_ she thought. Shizuo, has somehow managed to get the approval of her twin sisters; they just don’t let anyone carry them. They’re picky. They didn’t even give him a hard time. _It was too easy_ she kept thinking. _They just went away just like that_ she thought. Izaya couldn’t help but smile. _If…if they were….if he was…_ her thoughts bounced off each other, making it hard for her focus on one. _Kururi and Mairu didn’t protest – they let it happen, they allowed Shizuo to take them away._ “If they’re ready….” Izaya whispered, keeping her hands to her side, and gaze at the floor. She looked up, finding that the twins and Shizuo were gone. “Maybe…” Izaya immediately brought her hands to her chest; her left hand resting, and gently holding her right arm. Her grip tightened around her arm as she brought her arms closer to her chest, curling inward. She cringed at the sudden jolt of pain that coursed through her body. “maybe it’s time”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for making you all wait and thank you so much for reading!  
> Thank you so much for being patient with me and this fic.   
> I would also like to let you all know that I'm going to be making this as a series. In the process of drafting the plot and chapters, I've decided to split each arc into it's own story. So "Falling is..." is the first part. So I'll probably rename this fic. The series will also include some oneshots, interactions that happen in this AU that aren't very relevant to the overall plot. [hints at Kadota and Izaya interactions] 
> 
> About Shizuo's girlfriend. I know she was hinted and mentioned before, and I promise you this: there is a chapter where they, Izaya, Shizuo, Shinra, and Kadota, will talk about it. It might even be multiple chapters. As of right now, I don't have a set name for them, but if you have any ideas, feel free to comment/message me.   
> Again, thank you so much! If I made any spelling or grammar errors, please feel free to let me know.   
> Until next chapter!   
> -QCRika


	8. Breaking a Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins are finally asleep, and Izaya is trying to relax in a bath...so who are Hibiya and Sakuraya?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mention of blood, depression, suicide, and cutting. 
> 
> I'm sorry for the pause without any warnings. the truth is, my old comp "died" and it took a while for me to get my files back from that one, which included this and the other chapters. I'll try to update every two weeks.

“She might be checking the messages” Kururi reassured Mairu. Shizuo only sat in front of the girls’ bed, waiting for Izaya to come and read the girls a story. They made him stay, telling him that they will give Izaya a harder time should he ignore them. He was surprised when Izaya sat down next to him, she was a good six inches away from him. She motioned for the girls to give her a book – Kururi was already holding a fairytale book that’s opened to the first page of a fairytale. Shizuo peered over at Izaya, finding her quietness odd. He had to stop a gasp when he saw an inkling of a frown on her face.

  
“I’m only reading you both a chapter okay?”

  
“Yup!!” The twins cheered.

Affectionate. That was all Shizuo could’ve thought of when he saw Izaya interact with the twins that moment. There was also something melancholic about it, and it disturbed him. A moment like that shouldn’t be melancholic, he never got that feeling when his own mother read to him. But with Izaya, there was something that screamed ‘goodbye’. He watched as she planted a kiss to both of the twins forehead, tucking them in and flipping on the nightlights before turning off the lights. He watched as she lingered by their bed, by the door before closing it; and finally, how her grip stayed on the doorknob before letting it go and walking past him.

  
“Hey” Annoyed, he grabbed Izaya by her right arm, causing her to flinch. “What was that all about?”

  
“I just read my sisters a bed time story.”

  
“I know that”

“Then what?” Izaya breathed out. “Shizuo I really don’t feel like arguing, I need to sleep soon—“ Izaya didn’t get to finish her sentence as Shizuo leaned down and scooped her into his arms. “What the hell-“

“Don’t yell” he said as he looked down at her. “My mother and father use to carry me or Kasuka when we’re-“ He didn’t get to finish that sentence when Izaya immediately punched his chest plate. He let out a groan and let her go. “What the hell-“

“I don’t need this” Izaya muttered as she stood up. “I don’t need you to treat me the way your parents treat you” She glared at him before standing up and walking. “Don’t do that to me, ever” she said as she opened the door to her room. Shizuo followed, seeing that Izaya had taken out a fresh set of clothes and another towel in hand. “I’m taking a bath” she announced as Shizuo entered the room; I want to try and relieve this fever, and the ibuprofen doesn’t help” she walked past Shizuo. “I’ll in there for thirty minutes max, so don’t even think about barging in.”

“Like I would want to”

“Of course you wouldn’t” Izaya spat back. “You are faithful after all” she closed the door before Shizuo could fully process her words.

Izaya drew the bath and dialed it to lukewarm. She began to undress, waiting for the bathtub to fill up. She paused when her hand brushed over a scar on her torso. She let out a sigh, sitting down in the bathtub and reached over to the shower knob. She allowed herself to relax, surrendering her body to the pain she was feeling. She held in the moans and groans in her throat; refusing to let anyone, mainly Shizuo, from hearing her pain. She could feel her body twitch from the temperature. Izaya smiled, knowing that underneath the bubbles in the bath is her filth spilling out from her wounds. She lifted her right arm out, seeing that the makeup stayed in place, after all she did make sure they’re waterproof and water resistant. She rubbed her arm, revealing red lines running almost parallel to each to each other. Some began to bleed, while others just swelled up. She repeated the process on her left arm, and soon to her thighs.  
She flinched when she settled her limbs back into the tub, allowing the soap mixed water brush against the wounds. She let out a small laugh, sinking into the bathtub – this is her sanity. She couldn’t tell when she started, it was…it was before Shinra’s stabbing, Izaya can recall that much. It was all by accident. She remembered…or was it? Izaya didn’t believe in accidents, coincidence, and fates – things happen for a reason. The knife meeting the flesh of her arm happened for a reason. She let out a laugh, knowing that she’ll have to bleach the tub sometime over the week.

She usually had these times to herself – the twins are sound sleep, and she’s all alone. But not tonight. Tonight she has Shizuo. Tonight there’s a beast in her bedroom, invading her space. She supposed that it was a fitting punishment for getting into his space all the time. She is to be prevented of doing her usual activity, it angered her. He even made her take the pills! Pills and medicine never work on Izaya, she learned that at an early age. They made her worst. That’s why she would flush them down the toilet, that’s why she would sell them to someone else, that’s why--- she drew in a breath to stop her thoughts. Izaya often didn’t like to dwell on these kinds of memories. She ran her hand through her locks, and even scratched her scalp, resulting to her slamming her fist onto the bottom of the tub. She couldn’t stop thinking. That has always been the problem. The constant thoughts, voices, urges – the funny part was that they didn’t start until that god forsaken talk with her parents two years ago. In her anger and confusion, Izaya grabbed the towel resting not too far from her.

The towel muffled the sound of metal hitting the floor; Izaya pulled it closer, swatting away the rest to reveal a flick blade. With the flick of her wrist, the blade drew out, shining and reflecting the little bit of light from the fixture above Izaya. She simply moved the blade around, checking it at angled before snapping it shut. She kept the process, flicking it open then close, open then close; before she found herself holding the blade against her wrist. She breathed in as she pressed the blade harder against her skin. It’s been a while she thought.

She moved the knife in a swift motion; slicing through the layers of her skin, enough to draw out blood from the veins and arteries underneath. She exhaled, observing how the blood pooled around the fresh cut before it spilled out; creating a path that led to the tub. Izaya repeated the process – placing the knife lower than the first cut, and deeper. She couldn’t explain why she’s doing this, she hates pain yet physical pain is something that helped her distract herself from the current situations. She forgot about the twins, she forgot about Shizuo, she forgot about her fevers. She closed her eyes, focusing on the sensation in her arms, in the cuts that she made; She was about to make another cut, until someone knocked on the door.

“Hey Flea, it’s been 35 minutes”

She let out a gasp and dropped the knife. The immediately brought her arms down, searching for it, only to flinch from the sudden temperature change. “What was that sound?” Shizuo asked as he jostled with the doorknob. Izaya, realizing that the beast was going to open the door, immediately tried to relax in the tub, bringing her back against the wall, while extending her legs until her feet touched the other end of the tub. She let out a hiss when she felt the knife brush against her thigh, as well as the cold water.

“I’m coming in” Shizuo warned, Izaya frowned at his behavior and looked away from the door. He gave her five seconds, at which in the end, he opened the door. “Are you okay?”

“Never better” Izaya responded, disdain dripping from her tone.

“Good, now get out”

“Not with you in here” Izaya snapped as she looked up at him. She resisted the urged to bring her legs up to her chest; she could feel the knife resting underneath her thigh, and she has no intentions of marring them tonight.

“I’ll be outside then” He immediately turned, he glanced at Izaya and said. “Get out of there before you turn into a prune” He immediately made an exit and slammed the door. At first he let out a laugh, but soon realized that there was a thump that came from the room. Little did he know that Izaya immediately grabbed the knife underneath her thigh and threw it at his direction. It is currently the center of her interest until Shizuo spoke again. “Is every-“

“Don’t even think about opening the door while I’m changing” Izaya challenged as she stood up. She stepped out of the tub and walked over to the door, pulling out the knife. She immediately opened the medicine cabinet and took out the first aid kit. She opened the alcohol bottle, and due to her exhaustion, just poured it all over her bleeding arm. She held a scowl in her throat while the liquid washed over the open wounds. She applied the antibacterial gel after and then wrapped it around with gauze. Using her unbandage and uninjured arm, Izaya pulled the plug of the tub, and watched the water, which was tinted with her blood, flow down the drain. Once satisfied with the emptiness, she quickly grabbed the alcohol bottle and poured the remaining contents on the walls of the tub – wiping out the traces of blood.

She opened the door to find that Shizuo was sitting on the other side. His back was turned to the door, causing her legs to bump onto this back. He looked up at Izaya, seeing that she opted to wear a loose maroon long sleeve, and shorts. Shizuo’s eyes widened at the sight of Izaya’s legs – he shouldn’t even be able to see them. Just as he was going to yell over her wardrobe choice, she placed her right index finger on his lips as she leaned forward. “I prefer wearing shorts since I’ll be under a blanket” she clarified as she pushed Shizuo up. “Also I’m going to kill you if your yelling wakes up the twins”

  
*********

When Shizuo walked back into the room, he was surprised. The pull-out bed had been pushed against Izaya’s bed; the cushion of the office chair showed signs of recent use, while it's back cushion reflected the light from the monitor. A sense of anger surged through him, knowing that instead of sleeping, Izaya had been up and being up to no good. Izaya had left the monitor with two windows open, curious, Shizuo grabbed the chair and sat on it.

One of the windows was an email from someone named “Toudaimoto”, while the other is a black box filled words that seemed to make sentences. Shizuo remembered the box from their computer lab, you can type words into it, and it’ll bring up a result, or fuck up the computer. He looked over the words in the box, noticing some of the strings. He was thrown off when another window suddenly popped up.

  
> I heard from the twins that you’re sick.<  
\--What the hell are you doing up?--  
> Talking to Izaya! What a silly question.<  
\--Not you, I mean Izaya. What are you doing up. You should be resting.--  
> Is that concern dripping from your words?<  
\--Its logic, stop interpreting it otherwise…but Izaya you’re rather quiet--  
>maybe she fell asleep?<  
\--Unlikely…I’ll call her--

 

And much to Shizuo’s dismay, Izaya’s phone went off. He looked for the phone, finding it buried in the blanket that she was using. But even with the phone in his hand, he didn’t know what to do. He about to press the ‘call’ button, but the phone stopped ringing. He let out a sigh of relief, which soon died when the phone rang again. In a panic, he pressed a random button.

“Took you a while” A voice quipped. Shizuo held his breath.

“Izaya?” Another voice quip. “Ne, ne, Hibiya, maybe she is asleep”

“Don’t be stupid, Izaya would’ve just put us on reject call if she was”

“Then maybe we’re not talking to Izaya”

“You have five seconds before I call the Police—“

“WAIT!” he yelled. He covered his mouth in realization, while the other voices died down. He looked at the computer screen when he heard another sound.  
\-- I’m going to call the police, Izaya just doesn’t let men in the house.-- He read. “DON’T CALL THE POLICE!” he exclaimed.

“You have three seconds to clear this up, or I swear you will not live to see tomo-“

“I’m taking care of the twins” Shizuo clarified. “I know I make threats to Izaya—“

“…… get out” the voice interrupted. “Get the hell away from our cousin Heiwajima Shizuo”

“I can’t just leave the twins with Izaya!”

“And why is that? She’s taken care of them since she was nine, be it sick or well”

“Well she’s been fainting and throwing up—why do I have to justify myself to you!? I don’t even know you!”

“Because I’m her cousin!”

“We’re both her cousins actually” the higher pitch voice said. “Hibiya, you should stop giving Heiwajima-san a hard time.”

“Sakuraya you know what he does—“

“Toudaimoto-nii told me that he voluntarily stayed to take care of Kururi and Mairu. So relax” The person named Sakuraya said.

“…how is she?” the person named Hibiya asked. “Are you going to answer or do I have to call the house phone?” they threatened.

“She’s taking a bath” Shizuo replied as she laid down on the bed.

“…check on her right now”

“What?”

“I said go check on her! Right now!” the person named Hibiya yelled.

“Heiwajima-san wait!” the other voice said. “Hibiya don’t you trust Izaya?”

“Yes, but I’m concerned-“

“She’ll be fine.”

“…fine. I’m going to bed, goodnight” With that the phone line died, except someone called it soon after. Reluctantly, Shizuo answered the phone, mumbling a ‘hello’ while waiting for the voice to say something.

“I’m sorry about Hibiya, they’re just worried about Izaya”

“I can tell” Shizuo said as he laid down. He was a bit surprise by the amount of concern displayed by the two strangers.

“It’s just…well you’re not exactly the best person to take care of her, and she’s already breaking as far as I can tell.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’ll be rude of me to tell you” they clarified. “But you should honestly check in on Izaya soon, and let us know if she’s okay”

And that’s how he ended up facing Izaya curled up into a ball across from him…of course after telling her to get out of the bathroom. Much to his confusion, Izaya ignored Shizuo through their small journey in the hall, not even bothering to wave her hand to actively dismiss his concern. Instead she scurried over to her bed, climbed in, and curled into the current ball of blanket that Shizuo is staring at. He was surprise that she didn’t bother looking at her laptop and haphazardly threw her phone against the wall after replying to someone. Hibiya he thought.

“Do you want to take anymore ibuprofen before you sle-“

“No, and quite honestly Acetaminophen is better at this kind of condition” Izaya answered, disturbing Shizuo. She didn’t bother turning to look at him. “Just stay quiet and I’ll sleep” she finished. Shizuo nodded, opting to look at his cellphone.

[Shinra said to turn your ringtone to silent] a message from Celty read. [Izaya is a light sleeper, so any sound will wake her up.] the rest said. Shizuo nodded and did what Celty asked, if it had been another situation, Shizuo would have had his ringtone to the maximum volume, just to annoy Izaya.

But this is different. Something was off. From what he’s gathered, Izaya is very capable regardless of her conditions. So the fact that physically feeling ill would suddenly render Izaya unable to be Izaya, means that this is something much deeper. Shizuo frowned, knowing that the twins, based Izaya’s reactions, have a key role to this sudden change.  
He also couldn’t help but know that the boxes tucked away in the corner in neat little piles are a telltale sign of something. That the family portrait with Izaya missing is a clear indication of relationships in the family. And the trophies and certificates of awards tucked away from sight as if they’re terrible memories that should be repressed. There are so many signs that Shizuo himself is experiencing a sensory and mental overload on trying to figure out which signs point where and which ones are important. He simply fell back onto the spare bed, staring at Izaya and biting down on his jaw to prevent any violent urge his thoughts are driving him to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think. :')

**Author's Note:**

> Izaya's parents do work abroad, but it was never revealed where; so for the sake of this fic, and time zones, they're working in America.  
> I know Izaya is a bit OOC, and they will be that way for a couple of chapters.  
> If I made any grammar errors, please let me know!  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thanks for giving this a shot!


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